Highland Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,435 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. BSW Wealth Partners increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.5% in the first quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 2,673 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,400,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,186 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $1,071,000. Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $295,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 133,697 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $67,504,000 after buying an additional 19,193 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of UNH opened at $308.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $280.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $336.21 and a 200 day moving average of $454.51. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $415.57.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on UnitedHealth Group

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About UnitedHealth Group

(Free Report)

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.

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