Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Cuts Holdings 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 decreased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 28.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 236,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 92,890 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $123,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $3.10 on Thursday, hitting $242.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,587,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,083,630. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $293.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $410.54. The company has a market capitalization of $220.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 38.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $366.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.