Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 17.2% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 5.94 million shares of the company.
• UnitedHealth Group reported $4.08 earnings per share for the recent quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45, while revenue showed a 12.9% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase from $2.10 to $2.21 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.5% and a payout ratio of 38.30%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 17.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,940,206 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,233,209 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 0.5% of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.65% of UnitedHealth Group worth $3,111,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,128,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,257,131,000 after purchasing an additional 196,696 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $244.42. 11,331,473 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,403,832. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $292.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $408.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73. 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The company's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.

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.