GSA Capital Partners LLP Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 59.4% during the first quarter, after selling 4,573 shares, leaving the fund with a total of 3,127 shares valued at approximately $1.64 million.
• UnitedHealth Group reported an EPS of $4.08 for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.16, while also achieving a revenue of $111.62 billion, which was slightly below the expected $111.75 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $8.84 and a dividend yield of 3.39%, which marks a positive change from the previous dividend.

GSA Capital Partners LLP decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 59.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,127 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,573 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $378.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.1%

UNH 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. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $298.96 and a 200 day moving average of $420.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.16 by ($1.08). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued 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 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 is presently 37.02%.

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.