California Public Employees Retirement System Has $1.63 Billion Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 35.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 815,822 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.2% of California Public Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,627,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garrison Asset Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 114.1% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 33,959 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,878,000 after purchasing an additional 18,101 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Monument Capital Management lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 2,913 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 58,631 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,867,000 after purchasing an additional 3,518 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’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 owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $9.90 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $491.23. 4,691,233 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,554,929. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $488.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $515.20. The firm has a market cap of $452.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reduced 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, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

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.