Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 5,583,343 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

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. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 5,583,343 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.9% of Vanguard Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.97% of UnitedHealth Group worth $47,519,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Intrust Bank NA lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 9,151 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,793,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.0% during the first quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Renasant Bank lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the first quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 5,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,939,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,107 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,389,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 20.8% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 225,724 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $118,223,000 after buying an additional 38,910 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial reduced 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 note on Wednesday, July 16th. HSBC reiterated 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of UNH traded up $6.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $250.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,146,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,404,546. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $291.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $406.82. The stock has a market cap of $227.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.43.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 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.