UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $2.32

Key Points

• UnitedHealth declared a quarterly dividend of $2.32 per share, payable December 15 to shareholders of record December 7. That equates to $9.28 annually and a 2.3% yield.
• The company has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Its 35.4% payout ratio indicates earnings currently cover the dividend, with analysts expecting coverage to remain solid.
• Latest quarterly results beat analyst expectations: EPS was $4.69 versus $4.14 estimated, and revenue was $112.72 billion versus $111.31 billion estimated; revenue was down 0.4% year over year.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, December 7th will be given a dividend of $2.32 per share by the healthcare conglomerate on Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $9.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th.

UnitedHealth Group has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. UnitedHealth Group has a dividend payout ratio of 35.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect UnitedHealth Group to earn $23.38 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $9.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.7%.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $5.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $409.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,521,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,250,824. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $367.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.51. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $255.96 and a 1-year high of $461.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $390.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $363.08.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.14 by $0.55. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 17.95%. The firm had revenue of $112.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. The business's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 20.500- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 20.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Conway sold 1,169 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $455,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,977,920. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 76,863,061 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $31,946,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395,530 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,633,267 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $18,966,555,000 after buying an additional 301,081 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,704,994 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,449,317,000 after buying an additional 616,723 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,675,175 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,436,923,000 after acquiring an additional 583,536 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,443.7% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,447,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,510,920,000 after acquiring an additional 7,900,011 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated NYSE: UNH is a diversified health care company that provides health insurance coverage, health care services, pharmacy services and health technology. Its businesses serve individuals, employers, government programs, health care providers and other organizations, primarily in the United States.

The company operates through two principal businesses. UnitedHealthcare offers health benefit plans and related services for employers, individuals, families and government-sponsored programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.

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