UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Bought by TCW Group Inc.

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.4%, holding 277,038 shares worth approximately $145 million, making it the firm's 18th largest investment.
• Insider trading activity included CFO John F. Rex purchasing 17,175 shares for about $5 million, while CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares valued at approximately $179,645.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with some downgrading it while others maintain a "moderate buy" rating; the current average price target stands at $392.29.

TCW Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 277,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 16,729 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.3% of TCW Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $145,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 576 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.8% during the first quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Alteri Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 35.6% during the first quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 1,582 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 2,517 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,476 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,297,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH traded up $2.12 on Wednesday, reaching $263.19. The stock had a trading volume of 14,736,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,624,465. The company has a market cap of $238.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $299.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $421.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $378.95.

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.