S&CO Inc. Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• S&CO Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 27.5%, owning 36,171 shares valued at approximately $18.94 million.
• Several large investors, including Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc., have acquired new stakes in UnitedHealth Group, indicating a growing interest among institutional investors.
• UnitedHealth Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, marking a boost from the previous $2.10, with an annualized yield of 3.13%.

S&CO Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 27.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,171 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 7,811 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.3% of S&CO Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. S&CO Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $18,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $12.16 on Friday, hitting $237.40. The stock had a trading volume of 39,737,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,975,644. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $298.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $418.35.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 3.7%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Mizuho decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $373.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.