Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $165.45 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 327,068 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,464 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $165,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,975,000 after buying an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,060,000 after acquiring an additional 41,308 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,611,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.9 %

UNH stock opened at $529.71 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $532.43 and a 200-day moving average of $564.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.