Investors Buy Large Volume of UnitedHealth Group Call Options (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 123,300 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 33% compared to the typical volume of 92,702 call options.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $317.76. 16,050,941 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,147,651. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $288.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $467.51 and a 200-day moving average of $511.49.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Raymond James cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $575.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $454.23.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.

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