State of Alaska Department of Revenue Increases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 110,911 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.6% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $54,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,752 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $489.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $450.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $498.64 and a 200-day moving average of $501.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

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.