State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 35.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 338,926 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 189,467 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 0.8% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $172,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $5,802,231,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after buying an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3,464.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 825,311 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $434,501,000 after acquiring an additional 802,160 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were 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 owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $589.75 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $542.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $607.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $564.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $516.56.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

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.