Longbow Finance SA Reduces Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Longbow Finance SA reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 17.7% in the first quarter, now holding 20,704 shares valued at approximately $10.84 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of UnitedHealth Group's stock, reflecting significant institutional interest in the company.
• UnitedHealth Group announced a quarterly dividend increase from $2.10 to $2.21 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.15%.

Longbow Finance SA trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 17.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,446 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.3% of Longbow Finance SA's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Longbow Finance SA's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during 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 worth $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 worth $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird downgraded UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $392.29.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of UNH stock traded up $2.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $280.69. The company had a trading volume of 16,445,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,350,532. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $301.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $425.60. The company has a market cap of $254.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.45.

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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

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.