UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 0.2%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares shot up 0.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $494.87 and last traded at $493.34. 407,026 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 4,366,376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $492.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $481.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $511.98. The company has a market cap of $462.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,456 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. QCM Cayman Ltd. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $281,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 977,346 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $483,493,000 after acquiring an additional 172,564 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 30,982 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,327,000 after purchasing an additional 3,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 5,222 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 208 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.