Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 24,214 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 389,552 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 24,214 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.9% of Retirement Systems of Alabama's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $227,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after purchasing an additional 318,039 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,094,247,000 after buying an additional 35,533 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.0 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $4.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $520.68. The stock had a trading volume of 8,201,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,987,167. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $583.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $559.30. The stock has a market cap of $479.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.56 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

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.