Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 55,900 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 55,900 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $29,430,000. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.6% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,204,167 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $632,067,000 after acquiring an additional 5,713 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,751 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 8,911 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504 shares during the period. Finally, Saxony Capital Management LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $443,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $596.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $576.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. 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 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $2.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $439.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,045,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,111,728. The company has a market cap of $404.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $492.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.18. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The business had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 31.54%.

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.