UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 0.1%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $600.24 and last traded at $596.15. 411,478 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 4,055,913 shares. The stock had previously closed at $595.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $552.57 billion, a PE ratio of 36.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $557.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. 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

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,468 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,275,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $500,000. 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.