UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 0.3%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $584.36 and last traded at $590.54. Approximately 397,732 shares changed 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

Several equities research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $581.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $526.18. The company has a market cap of $544.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 1.62 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.14 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,098 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,640,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,085 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,730,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 78,418 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,284,000 after acquiring an additional 9,370 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 2,801 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,019,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,063,097,000 after purchasing an additional 67,361 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.