Birch Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Birch Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,854 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.7% of Birch Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Birch Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,975,000 after acquiring an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,060,000 after acquiring an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $21,165,000. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $558,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after acquiring an additional 193,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of UNH stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $513.49. 2,145,797 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,434,051. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $558.76 and its 200-day moving average is $561.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.