UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Position Trimmed by Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC

Key Points

• Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2%, now owning 58,225 shares valued at approximately $30.5 million, making it the firm’s second largest investment.
• In the first quarter of 2023, various institutional investors, including the University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co., significantly increased their stakes in UnitedHealth Group, highlighting a mixed sentiment among hedge funds.
• UnitedHealth Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, indicating a positive change from the previous quarterly dividend, with an annual yield of 3.15%.

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,225 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,942 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 2.7% of Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $30,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $373.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $12.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $253.63. 17,476,564 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,714,712. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $298.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $420.36. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.80 EPS. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.