New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 774,581 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 37,026 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.9% of New York State Teachers Retirement System's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of UnitedHealth Group worth $405,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. UBS Group cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $385.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. TD Cowen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Raymond James Financial lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $308.85 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $280.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $336.21 and its 200 day moving average is $453.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.

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