Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Reduces Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 28.2% during Q1, holding 236,174 shares worth approximately $123.7 million after selling 92,890 shares.
• CEO Stephen J. Hemsley and CFO John F. Rex both purchased shares of the company, indicating confidence in its performance, with Hemsley's purchase increasing his holdings by 14.63%.
• UnitedHealth Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $2.21 per share, representing an annualized rate of $8.84 and a yield of 3.7%.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP trimmed its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 28.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 92,890 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $123,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Citizens National Bank Trust Department lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $9,368,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,413,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $351.00 to $306.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of UNH opened at $237.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $414.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.80 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. 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. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

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.

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