Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,221,397 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 21,465 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.9% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $639,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth about $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $47,519,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,583,343 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $252.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $229.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $290.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $403.22. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $198.00 price target (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $366.52.

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.