Vise Technologies Inc. Increases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Free Report) by 44.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,625 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,977 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $441.87.

Read Our Latest Report on UNH

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.2%

UNH stock opened at $296.45 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $456.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $506.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $268.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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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