Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $585.85 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,112,795 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,765 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 3.1% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned approximately 0.12% of UnitedHealth Group worth $585,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $6.58 on Thursday, hitting $493.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,329,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,530,458. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $514.57. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The company has a market capitalization of $454.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

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.