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

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,619,549 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,322 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of UnitedHealth Group worth $1,325,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 6,304 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 46,182.6% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 202,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $102,313,000 after buying an additional 201,818 shares in the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 17,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,873,000 after buying an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 8,307 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,202,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $529.71 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $532.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $564.77. The company has a market capitalization of $487.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.