Steph & Co. Reduces Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Steph & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,368 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Steph & Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target 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. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $427.09.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $305.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $347.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $459.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.