Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Reduces Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP lowered its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,349 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.9% of Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,715,790,000 after purchasing an additional 527,526 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,787,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,934,895,000 after purchasing an additional 341,749 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,242,282 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,155,676,000 after purchasing an additional 180,331 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,843,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,937,976,000 after purchasing an additional 27,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.5% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,757,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,902,829,000 after buying an additional 352,710 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.2 %

UNH traded up $1.12 on Wednesday, hitting $487.30. 3,722,296 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,532,990. The company has a market cap of $449.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $487.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $514.76. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

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.