New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 16,572 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,203,639 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 16,572 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.5% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.13% of UnitedHealth Group worth $375,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% during the second quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 123 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $329.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $298.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $343.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.87. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $622.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.15 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Mizuho upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. KeyCorp upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.12.

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.