UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 0.1%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $507.00 and last traded at $501.65. 831,837 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 4,337,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $500.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $467.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $481.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $511.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’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 value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’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 transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,150,045,000 after acquiring an additional 250,291 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after buying an additional 527,526 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,961,369,000 after acquiring an additional 324,733 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,244,158,000 after purchasing an additional 542,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,802,231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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.