Avidity Partners Management LP Sells 53,700 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Avidity Partners Management LP lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 47.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,500 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 53,700 shares during the period. Avidity Partners Management LP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $30,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 78 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH traded up $1.22 on Tuesday, hitting $496.22. 4,220,519 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,153,548. The firm has a market cap of $456.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $490.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $507.22. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.75.

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.