Employees Retirement System of Texas Has $120.65 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 760.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 238,512 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 210,786 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.6% of Employees Retirement System of Texas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $120,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of UNH opened at $524.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $509.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $541.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.