UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of $7.17 Per Share, SVB Leerink Forecasts

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) – Investment analysts at SVB Leerink upped their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report released on Tuesday, May 23rd. SVB Leerink analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $7.17 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $7.15. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $24.98 per share.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.24 by $0.02. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 27.05%. The business had revenue of $91.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.49 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $562.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $592.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $630.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, April 14th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $600.88.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of UNH opened at $480.83 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $449.70 and a 12-month high of $558.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $489.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $499.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 533 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 740.8% during the 1st quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 5,751 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.2% in the first quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 15,747 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $373,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 31.5% in the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 693 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.58, for a total transaction of $488,456.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,019,764.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 6,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.49, for a total value of $3,002,938.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,199,084.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.58, for a total transaction of $488,456.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,019,764.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,852 shares of company stock valued at $4,313,962 over the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 13th were paid a $1.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 10th. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 30.18%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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UnitedHealth Group, Inc engages in the provision of health care coverage, software, and data consultancy services. It operates through the following segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight, and OptumRx. The UnitedHealthcare segment utilizes Optum’s capabilities to help coordinate patient care, improve affordability of medical care, analyze cost trends, manage pharmacy benefits, work with care providers more effectively, and create a simpler consumer experience.