UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 0.8%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price rose 0.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $580.78 and last traded at $578.94. Approximately 397,769 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 4,234,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $574.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.1 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $524.56 and its 200-day moving average is $505.89. The company has a market cap of $534.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.