UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.

Key Points

• GKV Capital Management significantly reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 87.9%, now owning only 176 shares after selling 1,284 shares in the first quarter.
• Despite some analysts downgrading their ratings and target prices, UnitedHealth Group maintains a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $366.52.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders, with an annualized yield of 3.4%.

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 87.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,284 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $92,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $133,373,000 after acquiring an additional 9,872 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 656 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Carroll Investors Inc lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 174.4% in the 4th quarter. Carroll Investors Inc now owns 1,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 107,575 shares of company stock worth $31,022,334. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of UNH opened at $261.59 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $289.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $402.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.43.

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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.80 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. 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. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 38.30%.

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.

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