UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,900 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.7% of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $39,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 17,423 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,814,000 after purchasing an additional 4,274 shares during the last quarter. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $551,000. Sabal Trust CO grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 61,926 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,326,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,731,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $876,110,000 after acquiring an additional 27,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $857,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $470.49 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $432.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $518.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $559.08.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Stephens lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

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.