Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 21,465 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has decreased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.7%, selling 21,465 shares, leaving them with 1,221,397 shares, making it their 10th largest investment.
• UnitedHealth Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, representing a 3.5% yield, up from the previous dividend of $2.10.
• Despite missing earnings estimates of $4.45 per share, UnitedHealth's revenue shows 12.9% year-over-year growth, indicating strong business performance in the healthcare sector.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,221,397 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 21,465 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.9% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.13% of UnitedHealth Group worth $639,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in 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 valued at $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $9.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $261.59. 12,160,581 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,478,328. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. 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 firm has a market cap of $237.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $289.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $402.24.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 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 analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.80 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 38.30%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.