UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 3%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares shot up 3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $507.81 and last traded at $500.86. 2,128,578 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 4,131,550 shares. The stock had previously closed at $486.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 price objective for the company. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $498.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $501.96. The stock has a market cap of $468.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter valued at $496,000. IMS Capital Management raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 3,732 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Jackson Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,822 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,827,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. American Trust increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. American Trust now owns 17,474 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,644,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 10,118 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.