LGT Capital Partners LTD. Sells 15,883 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• LGT Capital Partners LTD. has reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 28.3%, owning 40,147 shares now, valued at approximately $21 million.
• UnitedHealth Group's stock is currently down 4.9%, with a recent price of $237.40 and a market cap of $215.36 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, reflecting a boost from its previous dividend and aligning with a 3.7% yield.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 28.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,147 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 15,883 shares during the quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $21,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $367,521,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH traded up $3.17 on Monday, reaching $240.94. The stock had a trading volume of 17,390,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,268,408. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $296.86 and a 200-day moving average of $414.69. 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 company has a market capitalization of $218.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 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 the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.80 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $371.67.

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.