UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $445.63, but opened at $476.77. UnitedHealth Group shares last traded at $475.48, with a volume of 3,304,098 shares trading hands.

The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.37. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 31.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $551.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $573.80.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business'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 directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company's stock, 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 institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $44,150,045,000 after purchasing an additional 250,291 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,635,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $8,289,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,192 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,961,369,000 after acquiring an additional 324,733 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after buying an additional 542,424 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $432.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $490.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $515.63.

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.