UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Shares Bought by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 39.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 139,416 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,548 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $43,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% during the 2nd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 123 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $323.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $343.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $315.29. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $622.83. The company has a market capitalization of $292.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.14%.

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.