State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 2,853 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 528,393 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,853 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.9% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $278,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $495.35. 2,608,554 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,508,195. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $455.76 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $486.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $514.42. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

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.