UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 0.1%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares were down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $593.44 and last traded at $593.44. Approximately 340,804 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 4,022,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $594.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 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 research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $535.88 billion, a PE ratio of 35.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $572.79 and a 200 day moving average of $519.00. 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 quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Verity & Verity LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 105.8% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 875 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,165,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth approximately $61,519,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,898,000. 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.