Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd Acquires New Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,635 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,333,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.3% of Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of UNH stock opened at $294.99 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $443.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $500.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $267.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

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). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.