Value Partners Investments Inc. Has $5.83 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 156.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,117 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,785 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.5% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% during the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $302.19 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $342.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $458.07. The company has a market cap of $274.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current 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 paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.57.

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.