UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Sets New 52-Week High at $586.48

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $586.48 and last traded at $571.58, with a volume of 403600 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $576.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $522.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $511.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $502.29.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% in the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 75,602 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $39,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,537 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.