UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 0.2%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares rose 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $580.76 and last traded at $579.34. Approximately 392,093 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 4,011,308 shares. The stock had previously closed at $577.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Barclays upped their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.6 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $572.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $519.00. The company has a market capitalization of $534.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after acquiring an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.