UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.’s 2nd Largest Position

Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 966,315 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 17,511 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 8.8% of Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $564,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after buying an additional 776,516 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $608.38 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $559.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.63, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $584.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $555.02.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNH shares. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $618.26.

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.