UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 5.2% on Strong Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price traded up 5.2% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $479.75 and last traded at $468.89. 11,816,517 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 178% from the average session volume of 4,248,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $445.63.

The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.26 earnings per share.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $584.00 to $581.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $573.80.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Robbins Farley bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $432.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $490.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $515.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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.