State of Michigan Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 262,419 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 49,800 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.7% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $129,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,725,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,879,245,000 after acquiring an additional 623,631 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 111.0% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 40,915 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,629,000 after acquiring an additional 21,526 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.0% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 925,866 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $466,812,000 after acquiring an additional 84,215 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 16,786 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,463,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Elevatus Welath Management acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $498.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $498.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $501.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $458.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

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.