MWA Asset Management Sells 1,980 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• MWA Asset Management reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 52.0%, now holding 1,829 shares valued at approximately $958,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Capital International Investors and Northern Trust Corp, have increased their stakes in UnitedHealth Group, with significant investments made during the last quarter.
• UnitedHealth Group's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $4.08, missing estimates, while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21, reflecting a boost from the previous dividend.

MWA Asset Management cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 52.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,829 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,980 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price target (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH traded down $2.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $242.99. The stock had a trading volume of 6,357,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,080,672. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company's fifty day moving average is $293.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $410.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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.