Cooke & Bieler LP Raises Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 23.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 305,409 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 58,196 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.6% of Cooke & Bieler LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Cooke & Bieler LP's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $159,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $277,641,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,413,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on UNH. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Bank of America cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $414.35.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $4.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $288.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,738,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,770,851. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $308.39 and a 200 day moving average of $436.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.