Pacific Capital Partners Ltd Buys 3,875 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Pacific Capital Partners Ltd raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 81.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,625 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 3,875 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 3.3% of Pacific Capital Partners Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Pacific Capital Partners Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $3,837,207,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,572,193,000. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,729,912,000 after acquiring an additional 4,730,192 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth $528,273,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 6,191,871 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,904,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565,245 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners set a $410.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.75.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $334.00 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $606.36. The company has a market cap of $302.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $329.72 and a 200 day moving average of $321.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.14%.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.