US Bancorp DE Sells 24,633 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2%, selling 24,633 shares and now holding approximately 1,094,757 shares worth about $573.4 million.
• UnitedHealth Group's stock has recently experienced a decline of 6.2%, with shares opening at $249.43 and a reported 12-month low of $247.75.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $8.84 and a yield of 3.5%.

US Bancorp DE lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,094,757 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 24,633 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 3.6% of US Bancorp DE's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. US Bancorp DE owned approximately 0.12% of UnitedHealth Group worth $573,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BCGM Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,996 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,093,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 918 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 12,521 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $6,558,000 after buying an additional 5,605 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Brentview Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC now owns 11,473 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $6,009,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 4.9%

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $12.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $237.40. The stock had a trading volume of 39,874,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,268,949. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $296.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $416.24. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.43. 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $198.00 target price (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $373.52.

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.