Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 28.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 391,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 87,662 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.7% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $198,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $503.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $460.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $510.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $548.22.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.