Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 46.7% in the first quarter, now holding 7,289 shares worth approximately $3.82 million.
• UnitedHealth Group's quarterly earnings reported a miss in EPS at $4.08 compared to estimates of $4.45, with revenues reaching $111.62 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $2.10 to $2.21 per share, yielding 3.32% annually.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 46.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,289 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 6,395 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $9,368,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $277,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $39,413,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen lowered 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. Erste Group Bank cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $12.16 on Friday, reaching $237.40. 39,874,177 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,268,949. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.43. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $298.02 and a 200-day moving average of $418.35.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company 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%. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.80 EPS. Equities 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase 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%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group 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.