Invesco Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. sold 43,447 shares of UnitedHealth Group, reducing its stake by 0.7%, now owning a total of approximately 5,990,449 shares valued at about $3.14 billion.
• UnitedHealth Group reported earnings per share of $4.08, missing estimates by $0.37, with quarterly revenue of $111.62 billion, slightly below the expected $111.75 billion.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share from $2.10, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Invesco Ltd. lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,990,449 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 43,447 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.6% of Invesco Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.66% of UnitedHealth Group worth $3,137,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded up $6.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $250.74. The stock had a trading volume of 10,146,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,404,546. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The stock's 50 day moving average is $291.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $406.04. 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 firm has a market cap of $227.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.80 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.