Pacific Capital Partners Ltd Buys New Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Pacific Capital Partners Ltd has acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group, purchasing 13,750 shares valued at approximately $7.20 million, making it the 6th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for UnitedHealth Group, with Bank of America lowering its target from $350.00 to $300.00 and maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• UnitedHealth Group has reported a 7.5% decline in stock price and a quarterly earnings miss, with EPS reported at $4.08 versus consensus estimates of $5.16.

Pacific Capital Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,750 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $7,202,000. UnitedHealth Group makes up 4.6% of Pacific Capital Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Baird R W lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $378.95.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $5.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $266.43. The company had a trading volume of 22,302,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,886,933. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $298.96 and a 200-day moving average of $420.36. The company has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.16 by ($1.08). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during 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 company's 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. On average, equities 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 given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.