UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 27.500-28.000 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 27.520. The company issued revenue guidance of -. UnitedHealth Group also updated its FY24 guidance to $27.50-28.00 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a hold rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a reduce rating to a hold rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $569.68.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $478.99 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $489.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $515.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.75 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders 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 1.57%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the 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 owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 250,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $127,592,000 after purchasing an additional 60,300 shares in the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at about $875,000. 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.