UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 0.2%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price fell 0.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $489.30 and last traded at $492.15. 754,174 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 4,045,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $493.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 19th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $551.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.33.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $456.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $503.10 and its 200-day moving average is $518.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.34 EPS. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 11,812,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $5,802,231,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in 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 valued at $1,372,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540,538 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 2,348,107 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 143.4% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,494,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,679,401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,829 shares during the last quarter. 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.