UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $27.50-28.00 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.50. UnitedHealth Group also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 27.500-28.000 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an overweight rating and a $551.00 price target for the company. Erste Group Bank restated a hold rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America restated a buy rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $573.80.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $445.63 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $491.15 and a 200-day moving average of $515.88. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.37. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.26 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 31.54%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Power Corp of Canada purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. O Dell Group LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $74,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 84.0% in the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 173 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.