UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Position Lifted by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares, bringing its total to 46,038 shares valued at approximately $24.1 million.
• UnitedHealth Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, up from $2.10, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.5%.
• As of now, UnitedHealth Group's stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price averaged at $371.67, amidst several mixed price target revisions from different analysts.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $24,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after buying an additional 5,583,343 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted 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 worth $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $198.00 target price (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $366.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $1.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $244.42. The stock had a trading volume of 11,331,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,403,832. The stock has a market cap of $221.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $292.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $408.71.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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