Rock Springs Capital Management LP Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Rock Springs Capital Management LP reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 40.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 118,250 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 3.4% of Rock Springs Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Rock Springs Capital Management LP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $89,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 22.0 %

UNH stock opened at $456.10 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $438.50 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $417.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $512.95 and its 200 day moving average is $539.93.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $632.85.

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.