Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) traded up 5.2% on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $479.75 and last traded at $468.89. 11,816,517 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 178% from the average session volume of 4,248,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $445.63.
The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.26 earnings per share.
UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 31.54%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $571.20.
Read Our Latest Research Report on UNH
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 32,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 54,720 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $27,906,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,926,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,838 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,383,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 3,123 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.
UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance
The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock's 50-day moving average is $490.31 and its 200-day moving average is $515.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54.
About UnitedHealth Group
(
Get Free Report)
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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