UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6%, acquiring an additional 5,583,343 shares, bringing its total ownership to 90,729,585 shares.
• The company reported earnings per share of $4.08 for the last quarter, below analysts' expectations of $4.45, while its revenue rose 12.9% year-over-year to $111.62 billion.
• UnitedHealth Group's recent quarterly dividend of $2.21 represents a 3.5% yield, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $2.10.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 5,583,343 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.9% of Vanguard Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.97% of UnitedHealth Group worth $47,519,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $367,521,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. TD Cowen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $198.00 price objective (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $244.42. The stock had a trading volume of 11,331,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,403,832. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $221.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $408.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released 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 analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.80 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 3.6%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.