Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Purchases 581,324 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 129.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 581,324 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.2% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.11% of UnitedHealth Group worth $601,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $618.26.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $610.53 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $585.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $556.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $561.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors 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 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.72%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.