UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 1.6% – Still a Buy?

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) traded up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $521.74 and last traded at $521.57. 600,659 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 4,072,709 shares. The stock had previously closed at $513.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $472.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $509.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $545.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 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.