Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires 143,093 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 559,683 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 143,093 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.0% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $283,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 3,864 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 11,170 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,650,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 1,674 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.2%

UNH stock opened at $296.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $456.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $506.94.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNH. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $575.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $513.00 to $362.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $441.87.

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.