Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 3,982 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the first quarter, owning 299,203 shares valued at approximately $156.7 million.
• CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group, increasing his ownership by 14.63% to a total of 679,493 shares worth about $196.1 million.
• UnitedHealth Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $2.21 per share, reflecting a 3.7% yield, compared to the previous dividend of $2.10.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 3,982 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $156,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during 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. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during 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. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $367,521,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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. Mizuho decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock traded down $12.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $237.40. The company had a trading volume of 39,874,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,268,408. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $296.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $414.69. 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 company has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.