State of Wyoming Acquires 1,312 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 141.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,241 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,914,740,000. Amundi increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $955,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,186 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $291.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $470.82 and its 200 day moving average is $513.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. Argus downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $486.00.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.