State of Michigan Retirement System Cuts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 256,819 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $80,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 65.6% in the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 373,821 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $116,621,000 after buying an additional 148,097 shares in the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 348,834 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $108,826,000 after acquiring an additional 94,380 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 32.7% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 189,214 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $59,029,000 after purchasing an additional 46,629 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 360.8% during the 2nd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 3,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,166,000 after buying an additional 2,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 6,449 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,012,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $341.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $309.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $343.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $327.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 46.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners set a $410.00 price target on UnitedHealth Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.12.

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.