Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 12,322 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,619,549 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 12,322 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,325,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $529.71 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $532.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $564.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.