Redwood Investment Management LLC Increases Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Redwood Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 73.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,376 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $660.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $486.00.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $291.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $264.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $470.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $513.95.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.