UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.28 EPS

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28, RTT News reports. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group updated its FY 2024 guidance to 27.500-28.000 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $27.50-28.00 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $478.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $441.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $489.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $515.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Power Corp of Canada bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. O Dell Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 84.0% in the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 173 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.