UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 1.8% – Here’s Why

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price was up 1.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $368.00 and last traded at $360.17. Approximately 13,447,159 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 12,822,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $353.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $198.00 price target (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $358.95.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $326.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $307.84 and its 200 day moving average is $354.55.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%.The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 12,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,400,000 after purchasing an additional 5,176 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $168,000. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 13,565 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,105,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.