Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Reduces Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 98.9%, selling 106,598 shares in the 1st quarter, leaving them with only 1,201 shares valued at approximately $629,000.
• Analysts have downgraded UnitedHealth Group's stock, with TD Securities cutting its price target from $520.00 to $308.00, and other firms also adjusting their ratings, with a mix of sell, hold, and buy recommendations.
• UnitedHealth Group recently increased its dividend to $2.21 per share, reflecting a 5.2% rise from the previous quarter and a significant annualized dividend yield of 3.39%.

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 98.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,201 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 106,598 shares during the period. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the fourth 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 worth $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $367,521,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $378.95.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $5.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $266.43. 22,302,965 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,886,933. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $298.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $420.36. The company has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.