Covenant Partners LLC Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Covenant Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,178 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Covenant Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Capital Advantage Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $237,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 38,613 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $19,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,665 shares during the period. Bowie Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Bowie Capital Management LLC now owns 210,165 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $106,314,000 after purchasing an additional 38,107 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 182.7% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 22,109 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,184,000 after purchasing an additional 14,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,458,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $404.81 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $393.11 and a 1-year 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $494.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $527.03. The firm has a market cap of $368.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $660.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $652.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.86.

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.