Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 309,455 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 80,097 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $156,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,975,000 after acquiring an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,060,000 after purchasing an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $545.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.63 billion, a PE ratio of 35.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $535.03 and its 200-day moving average is $565.09. 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 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.