UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,020 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.8% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 price target (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $337.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Securities reissued 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.00.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH traded up $4.30 on Friday, reaching $303.81. The stock had a trading volume of 9,789,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,703,876. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The business's 50-day moving average price is $314.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $440.43. The stock has a market cap of $275.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.