UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.28 EPS

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group updated its FY 2024 guidance to 27.500-28.000 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $27.50-28.00 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of UNH opened at $478.99 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $489.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $515.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNH. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $569.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,268,753,000 after purchasing an additional 11,812,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,210,004,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,682.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,691,542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,372,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540,538 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 143.4% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,494,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,679,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,635,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,289,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,192 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.