UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 389,552 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 24,214 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 0.9% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $227,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,060,000 after buying an additional 41,308 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $21,165,000. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $558,000. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,905,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,554,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on UNH. HSBC lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $516.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $583.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $559.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $474.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

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.