Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $22.58 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.2%, leaving it with a valued stake of $22.58 million after selling over 6,500 shares.
• Institutional investors control approximately 87.86% of UnitedHealth Group's stock, with notable investments from firms like GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group.
• Analysts have revised their price targets for UnitedHealth Group, with forecasts now ranging from $300 to $390, reflecting a shift in ratings to a more cautious stance.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 43,108 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 6,572 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wolfe Research cut their target price 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, May 20th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $366.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $245.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $222.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $293.86 and its 200-day moving average is $410.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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.

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