12,616 Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Acquired by Entropy Technologies LP

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group, purchasing 12,616 shares valued at approximately $6.61 million, which represents 0.6% of their total holdings.
• UnitedHealth Group's stock has shown a recent increase of 2.5% and the company has reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, missing analysts' expectations.
• The company has recently raised its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, up from $2.10, marking a dividend yield of 3.5%.

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,616 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $6,608,000. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.6% of Entropy Technologies LP's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,583,343 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during 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 raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5%

UNH stock traded up $6.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $250.74. 10,146,688 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,423,422. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $227.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $405.18. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.80 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 target price (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.