Cypress Capital Group Sells 1,155 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Cypress Capital Group reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 11.9%, selling 1,155 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 8,585 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• UnitedHealth Group recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, missing estimates by $0.37, with revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, which was slightly below analysts' expectations.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, representing a 3.5% yield and showcasing a positive change from the previous dividend of $2.10.

Cypress Capital Group lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,155 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WP Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 5,095 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 4,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Ballast Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 14,462 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,574,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 3,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,057,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 9,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,724,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $250.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $227.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $291.78 and a 200 day moving average of $405.18.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $366.52.

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.

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