Arizona State Retirement System Grows Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 267,298 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.9% of Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $136,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Baird R W raised UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, August 19th. HSBC raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $595.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $557.22 and a 200 day moving average of $514.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $549.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.67 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.