UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 0.2%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares fell 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $489.30 and last traded at $492.15. 754,174 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 4,045,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $493.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $596.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $551.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.33.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $456.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $503.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $518.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The firm had revenue of $94.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 31.54%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keebeck Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,788 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $216,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $207,000. Bartlett & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% in the third quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 164,353 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $82,865,000 after buying an additional 8,873 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.