Davis Selected Advisers Cuts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Davis Selected Advisers has reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.1%, now holding 48,519 shares valued at approximately $25.4 million.
• The recent quarterly earnings report revealed a missed EPS estimate of $4.08 compared to the expected $4.45, with revenue also falling slightly short of projections.
• UnitedHealth Group has increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21, up from $2.10, representing an annualized yield of 3.6%.

Davis Selected Advisers lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,519 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,596 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers' holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $25,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,583,343 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.8% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,641,177 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $859,518,000 after purchasing an additional 950,928 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $244.42 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $292.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $408.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $221.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business 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. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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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