State of Michigan Retirement System Lowers Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,919 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.7% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $131,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased 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 valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 166.7% in the 4th quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 112 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $467.21 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $515.81 and its 200 day moving average is $556.09. 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 market capitalization of $429.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.