UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 0.3%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price was down 0.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $584.36 and last traded at $590.54. Approximately 397,732 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 3,961,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at $592.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $544.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $581.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $526.18.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is 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.