UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) were up 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $462.00 and last traded at $459.76. Approximately 1,484,605 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 4,157,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $458.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, December 18th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.33.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $500.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $518.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $424.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $94.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keebeck Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,788 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth approximately $207,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% during the third quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 164,353 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $82,865,000 after buying an additional 8,873 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.