Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $25.04 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,500 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.5% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $25,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 88.0% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 258,833 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $151,374,000 after acquiring an additional 121,180 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 212,295 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $123,025,000 after buying an additional 21,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iams Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $533.99 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $491.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $527.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.22. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.