Vestcor Inc Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.3%, now holding 51,155 shares valued at approximately $26.79 million, which is 0.9% of its investment portfolio.
• A number of institutional investors increased their holdings in UnitedHealth Group, with notable increases from UBS AM (36.6%) and GAMMA Investing LLC (56,142.1%) in recent quarters.
• UnitedHealth Group reported a missing earnings per share estimate for the last quarter, with actual EPS of $4.08 compared to analysts' expectation of $5.16.

Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,155 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,835 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.9% of Vestcor Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Vestcor Inc's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $26,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $9,368,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $277,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,413,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target 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. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $378.95.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $5.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $266.43. The stock had a trading volume of 22,302,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,886,933. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $298.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $420.36.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.16 by ($1.08). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.