ING Groep NV Increases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.2%, now controlling 122,145 shares worth approximately $63.97 million as of the end of the last quarter.
• UnitedHealth Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $2.21 from $2.10, representing an annual yield of 3.7%.
• Despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.9%, UnitedHealth Group reported an EPS of $4.08, missing analyst expectations by $0.37.

ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 122,145 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 4,871 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $63,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $198.00 price objective (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $2.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $242.91. The company had a trading volume of 6,357,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,080,672. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $293.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $410.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $220.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.80 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current 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 issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

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.