Birch Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Birch Capital Management LLC reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,854 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 203 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.7% of Birch Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $82,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 81,483 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,490,000 after purchasing an additional 12,145 shares during the last quarter. Stonekeep Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $436,000. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,061 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,596,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HCR Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% in the second quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 2,204 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:UNH traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, reaching $513.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,145,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,434,051. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $558.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $561.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $472.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNH. UBS Group cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $627.58.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.