UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Riverpark Capital Management LLC

Riverpark Capital Management LLC cut its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,717 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 2.6% of Riverpark Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Riverpark Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,583,343 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in 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 valued at $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.8% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,641,177 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $859,518,000 after purchasing an additional 950,928 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $250.74 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $291.78 and a 200-day moving average of $406.82. The firm has a market cap of $227.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its 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 return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 3.5%. 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 payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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.