Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Raises Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 191,190 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.7% of Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $94,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,919,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.7 %

UNH stock traded up $3.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $504.28. 3,535,102 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,241,919. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $464.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $498.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $500.02.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

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.