Davis R M Inc. Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Davis R M Inc. has decreased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.7%, holding 79,014 shares valued at approximately $41.38 million.
• Recent insider transactions include Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchasing 1,533 shares and CFO John F. Rex acquiring 17,175 shares, indicating confidence in the company despite recent stock performance challenges.
• Multiple analysts have reduced their price targets for UnitedHealth Group, with Wolfe Research setting a new target of $390, reflecting a cautious outlook in the healthcare sector.

Davis R M Inc. cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,014 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 11,527 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $41,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,128,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,257,131,000 after purchasing an additional 196,696 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $373.52.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $7.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $242.12. 5,678,075 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,747,493. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $242.50 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $219.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $298.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $418.35.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). 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%. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. 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 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.