Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen Focus Growth Strategy” first-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The fund returned 14.06% net in the first quarter compared to a 14.37% return for the Russell 1000 Growth Index and a 7.50% return for the S&P 500 Index. The first quarter was different from 2022. Technology, communications services, and consumer discretionary sectors were strong, while financials, energy, healthcare, and utilities sectors all had negative returns, which was opposite to the sectors’ performance last year. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the first quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is a healthcare company that operates through UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx segments. On April 25, 2023, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) stock closed at $491.92 per share. One-month return of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was 5.43%, and its shares lost 4.26% of their value over the last 52 weeks. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has a market capitalization of $463.124 billion.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy made the following comment about UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:
“UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was our largest absolute detractor, declining by over 10% in the quarter. Besides healthcare as a sector coming under pressure in the quarter, we believe there was some additional pressure on the shares from the February advance release of 2024 Medicare rates for Medicare Advantage health plans. In the preview, CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) announced Medicare rates would come in well below most people’s assumptions, which could pressure the profits of Medicare managed care providers like UnitedHealth, who also face inflationary medical cost pressures. After quarter end though, CMS adjusted those rates a bit higher. On the announcement, UnitedHealth has recouped most of its modest decline from the original announcement.
While CMS rate rules are important for companies like UnitedHealth, we believe the company is far better positioned than its peers to be able to mitigate any rate pressure or medical cost inflation. We believe this is due to its scale advantages and its other, higher-profit-margin businesses like Optum Insight, its data and analytics business, and its larger Optum Health business, where it operates the medical practices of primary care providers on a national basis.”
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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is in 16th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 110 hedge fund portfolios held UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 110 in the previous quarter.
We discussed UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in another article and shared best large-cap dividend growth stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
