Whalerock Point Partners LLC Has $5.98 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Whalerock Point Partners LLC lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 99.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,090 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,518,317 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.6% of Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH traded up $9.94 on Tuesday, reaching $576.69. The company had a trading volume of 4,137,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,302,601. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $581.50. The stock has a market cap of $530.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $510.88 and its 200 day moving average is $501.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

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.