Picton Mahoney Asset Management Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management has reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the first quarter, now owning 5,910 shares valued at approximately $3.1 million.
• UnitedHealth Group's stock has decreased by 7.5% recently, with a current price of $260.85, significantly down from its 12-month high of $630.73.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, marking a rise from the previous dividend of $2.10, with a current dividend yield of 3.39%.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 36.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,910 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 3,410 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $277,641,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,413,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock traded up $5.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $266.43. 22,302,965 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,886,933. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $420.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.16 by ($1.08). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. 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. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Oppenheimer reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $378.95.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.