Vest Financial LLC Increases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) by 73.5% in Q1, owning 12,219 shares valued at $6.4 million. Other institutional investors also raised their stakes. CEO Stephen J. Hemsley and Director Kristen Gil made significant stock purchases. UnitedHealth's stock rose 2.5%, with a market cap of $275.08 billion. The company reported Q1 earnings of $7.20 EPS, missing estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21, up from $2.10.

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 73.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 5,176 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after buying an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired 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 now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5%

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UNH stock opened at $303.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $275.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company's 50-day moving average price is $409.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $484.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $428.43.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Company 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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