Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 6,156 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 458,403 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,156 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.0% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $241,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,715,790,000 after purchasing an additional 527,526 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,787,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,934,895,000 after acquiring an additional 341,749 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,242,282 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,155,676,000 after acquiring an additional 180,331 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,843,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,937,976,000 after purchasing an additional 27,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,757,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,902,829,000 after buying an additional 352,710 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.3 %

UNH stock traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $495.35. 2,727,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $485.84 and a 200-day moving average of $514.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $455.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group 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.