UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Hits New 52-Week High at $595.98

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $595.98 and last traded at $595.98, with a volume of 56191 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $590.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $550.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $512.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $550.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business 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 company posted $6.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.67 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after buying an additional 544,740 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,961,369,000 after purchasing an additional 324,733 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after buying an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,802,231,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.