King Luther Capital Management Corp Decreases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 38.2%, selling 72,863 shares and holding 117,764 shares worth approximately $61.68 million.
• UnitedHealth Group reported earnings of $4.08 per share for the last quarter, falling short of the expected $4.45, despite a 12.9% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%, with a payout ratio of 38.30%.

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 38.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,764 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 72,863 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $61,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 3,642 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5%

UNH stock traded up $6.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $250.74. 10,146,688 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,423,422. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $291.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $405.18. The company has a market cap of $227.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased 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, July 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $366.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.