Counterweight Ventures LLC Takes $2.40 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Counterweight Ventures LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,556 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,399,000. UnitedHealth Group makes up 2.2% of Counterweight Ventures LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after acquiring an additional 527,526 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,961,369,000 after acquiring an additional 324,733 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,244,158,000 after acquiring an additional 542,424 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $5,802,231,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,787,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,934,895,000 after buying an additional 341,749 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $497.12. 3,188,374 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,452,273. The stock has a market cap of $457.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $493.55 and its 200 day moving average is $506.38. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Baird R W upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.74.

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.