UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading 0.2% Higher

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) were up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $494.87 and last traded at $493.34. Approximately 407,026 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 4,366,376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $492.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $454.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $482.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $512.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 9,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 9,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. MGB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,937 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Davidson Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,535 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,243,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 14,755 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares during the period. Capital City Trust Co. FL grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 6,896 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,411,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,174,801 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,075,874,000 after acquiring an additional 130,925 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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