Blue Whale Capital LLP Makes New Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Blue Whale Capital LLP acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 76,152 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $38,522,000. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 2.9% of Blue Whale Capital LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $632.85.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of UNH stock traded up $7.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $601.91. 2,893,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,345,038. The firm has a market cap of $550.57 billion, a PE ratio of 38.70, 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 $511.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $541.87. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.