New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 77,561 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,235,874 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 77,561 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.8% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.13% of UnitedHealth Group worth $625,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% during the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $501.52 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $521.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $562.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $461.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.