ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Invests $91.82 Million in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group, purchasing 175,329 shares valued at approximately $91.8 million, making it the firm’s 11th largest holding.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their stakes in UnitedHealth Group, with GAMMA Investing raising theirs by over 56,000% and Vanguard Group acquiring an additional 5.6 million shares.
• UnitedHealth Group declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, reflecting a positive increase from the previous dividend and demonstrating a dividend yield of 3.5%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 175,329 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $91,823,000. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after buying an additional 5,583,343 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE UNH traded down $1.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $244.42. 11,331,473 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,403,832. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $292.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $408.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $221.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $366.52.

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.