Mizuho Securities USA LLC Reduces Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 15.5%, owning 73,687 shares, after selling 13,535 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Citizens National Bank Trust Department and Fort Washington Investment Advisors, have recently changed their positions in UnitedHealth Group, contributing to a significant ownership of 87.86% by institutional investors.
• UnitedHealth Group reported a miss on earnings per share, with $4.08 EPS compared to an expected $4.45, while revenue was $111.62 billion, slightly below analyst estimates.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 13,535 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.8% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $38,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 valued at $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.8% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,641,177 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $859,518,000 after acquiring an additional 950,928 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $6.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $250.74. 10,146,688 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,404,546. The company has a market cap of $227.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50 day moving average is $291.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.04. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. 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 issued 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 business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. Wall Street Zen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $366.52.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.