UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 0.1%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $494.31 and last traded at $491.94. Approximately 899,094 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 4,506,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $491.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $448.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $488.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $515.03.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.