Waverton Investment Management Ltd Increases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

by · The Markets Daily

Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Free Report) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 480,418 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,441 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 3.9% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $251,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $302.43 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $339.15 and a 200-day moving average of $456.28. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $274.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. 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 announced its 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share 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 $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.57.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on UNH

UnitedHealth Group Profile

(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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