UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 1.1% – Here’s Why

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price traded up 1.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $262.33 and last traded at $261.83. 7,719,353 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 9,796,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $411.00 to $409.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $410.00 to $345.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $430.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $391.00 to $327.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.13.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $237.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $290.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $322.26.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.02. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 2.69%.The business had revenue of $113.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.81 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.02%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $4,376,167,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 126.9% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,042,049 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,503,419,000 after purchasing an additional 7,293,009 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $1,572,193,000. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,729,912,000 after acquiring an additional 4,730,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,766,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,516,107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,439,182 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.