South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,086 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 0.8% of South Dakota Investment Council’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $36,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,441,000. Eudaimonia Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Eudaimonia Advisors LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 12,368 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,511,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 100.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,378 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,831,000 after buying an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.0 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $4.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $486.37. The company had a trading volume of 3,645,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,543,351. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $487.49 and its 200-day moving average is $514.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.