Callan Family Office LLC Decreases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Callan Family Office LLC has decreased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 29.4% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 22,149 shares valued at approximately $11.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors have either bought new positions or increased their stakes in UnitedHealth recently, with 87.86% of the stock presently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• UnitedHealth's stock has faced recent downgrades from several analysts, with the average price target now set at $366.52 and many analysts recommending a "hold" rating.

Callan Family Office LLC decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 29.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,149 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 9,212 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.9% of Callan Family Office LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Callan Family Office LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $366.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of UNH stock traded up $9.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $261.59. 12,160,581 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,478,328. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company's 50-day moving average price is $289.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $402.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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.