Janus Henderson Group PLC Buys 549,658 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,507,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 549,658 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of Janus Henderson Group PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.60% of UnitedHealth Group worth $2,786,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $652.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $660.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Argus downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $380.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $346.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $378.54 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $488.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $522.31.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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.