Cumberland Partners Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd significantly reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group, cutting its position by 94.5% to just 1,920 shares after selling 33,110 shares, bringing the value of its holdings to approximately $1,006,000.
• In recent movements, UnitedHealth Group's CFO purchased 17,175 shares for nearly $5 million, indicating insider confidence, while the CEO sold shares worth $179,645, reducing their stake by 5.36%.
• Analysts have downgraded UnitedHealth Group, with multiple brokerages issuing lower ratings and target prices, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $373.52.

Cumberland Partners Ltd lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 94.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,920 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 33,110 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $367,521,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded up $3.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $240.94. The stock had a trading volume of 17,390,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,268,408. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average is $296.86 and its 200 day moving average is $414.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $371.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.