Brokers Issue Forecasts for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated's Q4 2024 Earnings (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a research note issued on Monday, May 20th. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will earn $6.63 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $6.62. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group's current full-year earnings is $27.60 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group's Q2 2025 earnings at $7.34 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $8.24 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:UNH traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $521.41. 2,299,195 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,196,830. The firm has a market cap of $479.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.55. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $487.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $510.99.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company'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 value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNH. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 774.0% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 673 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Millington Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Millington Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,156 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 4,305 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,843 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,450,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.