BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd Invests $42.92 Million in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 137,591 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $42,924,000. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.6% of BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $341.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $339.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $316.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $606.36. The company has a market cap of $309.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $423.00 to $417.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $385.54.

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.