Mondrian Investment Partners LTD Reduces Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Mondrian Investment Partners LTD reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0%, owning 227,338 shares worth approximately $119 million, making it the 25th largest position in their portfolio.
• UnitedHealth Group's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $4.08, missing estimates by $0.37, along with a revenue that was slightly below expectations at $111.62 billion.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $2.21 per share, up from $2.10, equivalent to an annual yield of 3.4% based on a payout ratio of 38.30%.

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,338 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,373 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 2.0% of Mondrian Investment Partners LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $119,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $133,373,000 after purchasing an additional 9,872 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 656 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carroll Investors Inc lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 174.4% during the fourth quarter. Carroll Investors Inc now owns 1,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 3.7%

UNH stock opened at $261.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $630.73. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $289.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $402.24.

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 company had revenue of $111.62 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 107,575 shares of company stock valued at $31,022,334 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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