State of Alaska Department of Revenue Buys 11,620 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 129,471 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,620 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.7% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $65,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 258,833 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $151,374,000 after purchasing an additional 121,180 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 24,289 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.8% in the third quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,512 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Finally, Rockingstone Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $291,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $539.50 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $533.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $564.94. The company has a market capitalization of $496.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Stephens upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.