Sepio Capital LP Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sepio Capital LP lowered its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,871 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Titleist Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 42.2% during the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,302,000. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 160,400 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $81,140,000 after acquiring an additional 38,400 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,242,862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $628,842,000 after purchasing an additional 110,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $524.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $480.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $509.24 and a 200 day moving average of $542.12. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.