Covea Finance Makes New Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Covea Finance purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $4,374,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Apeiron RIA LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 2,581 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 964 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group Inc grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Partners Group Inc now owns 509 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 3,251 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.4% during the first quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 206 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.69% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $486.70 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $445.68 and a 52 week high of $558.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $450.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $491.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $486.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.92 by $0.22. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 26.72%. The business had revenue of $92.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 11th will be issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNH shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $562.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 17th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $580.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 14th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $580.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $564.00 to $555.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $575.65.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.19, for a total value of $2,024,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,772,866.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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.