UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 0.6%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) were up 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $498.00 and last traded at $497.42. Approximately 1,274,317 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 4,349,169 shares. The stock had previously closed at $494.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $481.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $512.16. The company has a market cap of $460.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the 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. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bray Capital Advisors grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bray Capital Advisors now owns 9,616 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,848,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 15.7% during the third quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 105,860 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $53,374,000 after acquiring an additional 3,023 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 84,324 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,515,000 after purchasing an additional 9,979 shares during the period. Finally, Telemus Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 19,338 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,750,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.