Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Sells 1,300 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 86.7%, now owning only 200 shares, valued at $105,000.
• Wall Street analysts have adjusted their price targets for UnitedHealth Group, with Deutsche Bank lowering theirs from $521.00 to $362.00, indicating a general trend of reduced confidence.
• UnitedHealth Group announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.3%, with a payout ratio of 38.30%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lowered its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 86.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 200 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 worth $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on UNH. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $198.00 price objective (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Baird R W downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $366.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $271.79. 22,346,613 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,776,074. The company's 50 day moving average price is $288.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $399.47. The firm has a market cap of $246.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 1.75 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 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.