Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 44,801 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 719,725 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,801 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.1% of Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.08% of UnitedHealth Group worth $364,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $570,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 147,866.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 31,073 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $15,719,000 after buying an additional 31,052 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. LM Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. LM Advisors LLC now owns 4,953 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,506,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Homestead Advisers Corp bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,429,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $515.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $471.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $508.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $545.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.