UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 0.2%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares were up 0.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $494.87 and last traded at $493.34. Approximately 407,026 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 4,366,376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $492.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $482.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $512.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $454.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $44,150,045,000 after buying an additional 250,291 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after buying an additional 527,526 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,961,369,000 after purchasing an additional 324,733 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after buying an additional 542,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,802,231,000. 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.