Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 558,524 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 155,496 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 5.1% of Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.06% of UnitedHealth Group worth $282,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $128,975,000 after buying an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,060,000 after purchasing an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $523.48 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $523.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $563.09. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $481.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.