Cornerstone Advisors LLC Has $22.58 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Cornerstone Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 15.0%, now holding 43,103 shares after selling 7,600 shares.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings missed analyst estimates, reporting an EPS of $4.08 compared to the expected $4.45.
• UnitedHealth Group announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, representing a 3.5% dividend yield.

Cornerstone Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 7,600 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.0% of Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Cornerstone Advisors LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the 1st 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. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $366.52.

Insider Activity

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of UNH stock traded up $6.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $250.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,146,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,404,546. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $291.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $406.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $227.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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.