UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 0.7%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price traded down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $517.00 and last traded at $517.66. 605,520 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 4,160,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $521.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $475.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $488.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $511.06.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’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 value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.