UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading 0.1% Higher

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price traded up 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $494.31 and last traded at $491.94. 899,094 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 4,506,675 shares. The stock had previously closed at $491.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen decreased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $486.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $514.57. The company has a market capitalization of $448.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 123,448 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $61,070,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 27.4% in the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 134.6% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,277,000 after buying an additional 3,801 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 168.9% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,740 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $861,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 18.9% in the first quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 107,700 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $53,279,000 after buying an additional 17,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.