Commerce Bank Boosts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2%, holding 124,317 shares valued at approximately $65.11 million following the purchase of 3,902 additional shares.
• UnitedHealth Group reported $4.08 EPS for the latest quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $4.45, while revenues reached $111.62 billion, slightly below consensus estimates.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend from $2.10 to $2.21 per share, indicating a positive growth trend in shareholder returns with an annualized yield of 3.5%.

Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,317 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 3,902 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $65,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 622 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 109.7% in the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,919,000 after purchasing an additional 7,910 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 8,451 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 2,785 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 85.8% in the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 46,289 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $24,244,000 after purchasing an additional 21,374 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $12.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $237.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 39,874,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,268,949. The stock has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company's 50-day moving average is $296.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $416.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. 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 payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $373.52.

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.