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

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 49,500 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.5% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $25,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $57,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.1 %

UNH opened at $533.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $491.42 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $527.67 and its 200 day moving average is $564.22.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.