The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $922.33 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,577,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 688,707 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.8% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.17% of UnitedHealth Group worth $922,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,117,462,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after acquiring an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $605.53 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $557.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.45, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $582.96 and a 200-day moving average of $553.99.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.