UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Persistent Asset Partners Ltd

Key Points

• Persistent Asset Partners Ltd reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 20.9%, now owning 9,351 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million.
• CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares at an average price of $305.00, while CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares for around $25 million, increasing his ownership by 14.63%.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for UnitedHealth Group, with **Oppenheimer** lowering its target from **$400.00** to **$325.00** and **Bank of America** cutting it from **$350.00** to **$300.00**.

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,351 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,473 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 4.1% of Persistent Asset Partners Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 304,422 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $159,104,000 after purchasing an additional 20,241 shares during the last quarter. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $733,000. Tlwm increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 2,736 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bulltick Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.0% in the 1st quarter. Bulltick Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America dropped 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. Finally, Baird R W cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $252.44 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $290.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $403.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change 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%.

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.

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