Bailard Inc. Has $38.09 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bailard Inc. cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 75,294 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 393 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.0% of Bailard Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $38,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $955,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,186 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $458,929,000 after acquiring an additional 776,516 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $601,951,000 after acquiring an additional 581,324 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after purchasing an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $276,785,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $474.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $516.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $557.04. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $437.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.