UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 1.8% on Analyst Upgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares traded up 1.8% on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $545.00 to $562.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as high as $504.75 and last traded at $502.10. 1,872,487 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 4,485,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $493.18.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on UNH. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. 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. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 sale, 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. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $488.97 and a 200-day moving average of $515.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $462.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors 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 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

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.