UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 1.1%

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.7 %

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

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Capital Insight Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Collective Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.