Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. Grows Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter, now holding 183,316 shares valued at approximately $96 million, making it the fund's 9th largest position.
• UnitedHealth Group recently reported lower than expected quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $4.08, missing estimates by $1.08, and revenue at $111.62 billion, falling short of the expected $111.75 billion.
• The company's dividend was increased to $2.21 per share, representing an annualized amount of $8.84 and a yield of 3.39%, up from the previous $2.10 quarterly dividend.

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,316 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 4.7% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $96,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $367,521,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $5.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $266.43. The company had a trading volume of 22,302,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,886,933. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $298.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $420.36. 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 has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.16 by ($1.08). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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 $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $378.95.

UnitedHealth Group 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.