Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,357 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 885 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.0% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $35,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,275,000 after buying an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 102.8% during the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 14,774 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,778,000 after acquiring an additional 7,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $668,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $580.32 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $607.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $574.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $519.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $535.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group 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.