Orbis Allan Gray Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Orbis Allan Gray Ltd has significantly reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group, decreasing its holdings by 64.8% during the first quarter to 665,142 shares, valued at approximately $348 million.
• UnitedHealth Group's recent earnings report showed a miss against analyst estimates, with earnings per share of $4.08 compared to a consensus of $4.45, despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.9% to $111.62 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, set to be paid on September 23rd, with a current annual dividend yield of 2.9%.

Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 64.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 665,142 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,223,044 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 2.0% of Orbis Allan Gray Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd owned 0.07% of UnitedHealth Group worth $348,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in 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 period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after buying an additional 5,583,343 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $13,537,859,000 after buying an additional 2,486,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $353.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of UNH stock traded up $7.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $309.77. 12,018,847 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,891,168. The business's fifty day moving average is $288.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $379.63. 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 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The firm 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

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.