NorthRock Partners LLC Has $5.67 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• NorthRock Partners LLC reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Inc. by 22.0%, now holding 10,822 shares worth approximately $5.67 million.
• UnitedHealth Group reported a net loss of $1.08 per share against expectations, with revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $2.10 to $2.21, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.39%.

NorthRock Partners LLC lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 22.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,822 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 3,051 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during 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. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $5.36 on Wednesday, hitting $266.43. 22,302,965 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,886,933. 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 company has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company's fifty day moving average is $298.96 and its 200 day moving average is $420.36.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.16 by ($1.08). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $351.00 to $306.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $378.95.

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.