UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $571.70 and last traded at $567.85. 509,413 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 3,933,118 shares. The stock had previously closed at $564.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price target (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

Read Our Latest Report on UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $521.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $583.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $537.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given 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 dividend yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 1,610 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 6,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,113,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Weaver Consulting Group raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 593 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 11,533 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,705,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,942 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,918,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

(Get Free Report)

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.

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