UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 2.9% – Time to Buy?

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shot up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $313.32 and last traded at $313.2040. Approximately 7,898,455 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 9,685,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $304.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $425.00 to $389.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $410.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $411.00 to $409.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.42.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.4%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.73. The stock has a market cap of $285.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.83, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 67.02%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. North Capital Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 16.2% during the third quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 194 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,631 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.5% in the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 244 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC now owns 982 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.