UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 5.2% on Strong Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price rose 5.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $479.75 and last traded at $468.89. Approximately 11,816,517 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 178% from the average daily volume of 4,248,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $445.63.

The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.37. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $596.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $573.80.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,268,753,000 after buying an additional 11,812,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $5,802,231,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,682.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,691,542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,372,606,000 after buying an additional 2,540,538 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,107 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 143.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,494,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,679,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,829 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 5.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $490.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $515.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $432.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54.

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.