UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH)

HMOs have really benefited from the Affordable Care Act with new lives coming on to getting insurance. Also, benefiting from lower employment rates. This is the “elephant in the room” in healthcare insurance in the US. Dividend yield of 1.81%.

(A Top Pick July 9/15. Up 17%.) The largest provider of healthcare coverage. The US has about 50 million subscribers, about 4 million in Brazil. They are in 125 countries globally. This is still a Buy.

(A Top Pick Aug 21/15. Up 14.36%.) Obama care has got so many more people into the insurance net. Also, the demographics are working. This is the largest Medicare and Medicaid provider in the US.

This stock is very consistent. Management has a stated pledge to return 50% of free cash flow and invest with the rest. This is very stable and very predictable. Excellent execution. Consistently high multiple, which he likes. Dividend yield of 1.52%.

He likes it. They will benefit from Obamacare going forward. He took it out of the portfolio, but will revisit it. It got overbought so wait for it to pull back before buying.

This whole industry is fascinating. All these companies are going through a period where they are trying to merge. The whole sector demographically is positive. He is keeping an eye on this, but not ready to pull the trigger yet.

The largest Medicare contractor in the US and a top Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM). Best in class management. They have a stated mandate to return 50% of free cash flow every year. Significant demographic tailwinds for years to come. Dividend yield of 1.65%.

(A Top Pick Aug 21/15. Up 1 point to 3%.) Their predominant business is in health insurance, but also does pharmacy benefits management. Their PBM business is under a little bit of pressure right now, but this is one of the best operators in the business.

He would stick with Anthem (ANTM-N) instead. This one was a little bit late to the party in terms of taking up the insurance through Obama care.

(Top Pick Aug 21/15, Up 0.93%) A huge secular tailwind. Mid teen earnings growth and a reasonable multiple. They are a flawless operator.

The largest diversified health care services company providing healthcare benefits and assistance to people in the US and Brazil. Positioned to benefit from Obama care and the aging US population. Growth rate relative to its peers is quite strong. They are going to grow in terms of membership because of what is happening with insurance in the US. Dividend yield of 1.7%.

He prefers Anthem (ANTM-N), but this one does the job as well. You need critical mass (size) and they both have that. This company recently bought Catamaran, a pharmacy benefit company. This is where you bolt on naturally accretive operations to these companies, and they work very, very well.

Largest health medicare contractor in the US. More healthcare will be needed in the future. The stock never seems to get ahead of itself. Sees more acquisitions coming. Solid management. Not going for home runs, all singles and doubles, which he really likes.

(Top Pick Aug 1/14, Up 63.33%) It got taken out. They benefited by Obamacare.

In the healthcare industry which have all done very well. There is consolidation going on and the sector has outperformed. Wouldn’t be chasing this right now. The whole sector has benefited because of the aging population. The bigger you get, the lower your infrastructure costs are, and the more your network expands. Wait for a pullback.