Townsquare Capital LLC Decreases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2%, now holding 66,366 shares worth approximately $34.76 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Revolve Wealth Partners LLC, significantly increased their stakes in UnitedHealth Group during the same period, indicating varying confidence levels among investors.
• UnitedHealth Group recently reported earnings per share of $4.08, missing analysts' expectations and showing a significant decrease from $6.80 per share in the previous year.

Townsquare Capital LLC cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,366 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,401 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $34,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $133,373,000 after buying an additional 9,872 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 42,744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $21,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $198.00 price target (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $244.42 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $630.73. 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 market cap of $221.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $292.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $408.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 during 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. 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. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.