By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,430,000 shares, a drop of 18.8% from the November 30th total of 7,920,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.
Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after acquiring an additional 776,516 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,380,661,000 after purchasing an additional 587,088 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.4 %
Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $1.94 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $505.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,212,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,107,280. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $563.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $560.81. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $465.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.96, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.
UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. Barclays upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.84.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on UNH
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.
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