Utah Retirement Systems Raises Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Utah Retirement Systems lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,554 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 361 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.9% of Utah Retirement Systems’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $77,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,039,933,000 after acquiring an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.2% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 635 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,275 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $900,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $409.23 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $499.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $532.08. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $409.10 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $372.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.18%.

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.