UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading 1.1% Higher

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares shot up 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $604.52 and last traded at $589.94. 1,300,259 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 3,966,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $583.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $548.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $580.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $525.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The company 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 business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.