UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Tredje AP fonden

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden has reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 25.1%, now holding approximately 254,454 shares, which comprise about 1.2% of its investment portfolio.
• UnitedHealth reported a net margin of 5.39% and $111.62 billion in revenue for the last quarter, falling slightly short of analyst expectations.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, reflecting a positive shift from the previous dividend of $2.10.

Tredje AP fonden decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 25.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 254,454 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 85,494 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.2% of Tredje AP fonden's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $133,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brucke Financial Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 1,131 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 686.7% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 236 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Meredith Wealth Planning purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $258,000. S&CO Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 36,171 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $18,944,000 after acquiring an additional 7,811 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,710,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $5.36 during trading 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 current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $298.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $420.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.16 by ($1.08). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $6.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Baird R W downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. TD Cowen downgraded 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $378.95.

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.