State of Wyoming Has $1.13 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

State of Wyoming raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 141.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,241 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the period. State of Wyoming’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $486.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $291.24 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $470.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $513.60. 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 capitalization of $264.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

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.