UnitedHealth Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• UnitedHealth saw unusually high options activity, with traders purchasing 145,490 call options—120% above the average volume of 66,007 calls.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $456.56; several firms recently raised their targets to between $478 and $512.
• The stock fell 2.4% to $378.83, while the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations and declared a quarterly dividend of $2.32 per share, yielding approximately 2.4% annually.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 145,490 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 120% compared to the average volume of 66,007 call options.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Conway sold 1,169 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total value of $455,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,977,920. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 41,749.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 567,446,754 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $235,847,894,000 after buying an additional 566,090,823 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,376,167,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $245,516,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $2,444,928,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,019,844,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $512.00 price target on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $463.00 to $478.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $460.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $287.00 to $453.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $456.56.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.4%

UNH traded down $9.45 on Friday, hitting $378.83. The company had a trading volume of 5,612,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,611,319. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $340.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. The company's fifty day moving average price is $409.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $367.63. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $255.96 and a 1 year high of $461.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.94 by $1.44. The business had revenue of $112.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.81 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.08 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 19.82 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be issued a $2.32 dividend. This represents a $9.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 14th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 59.72%.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a diversified health care and well-being company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Its operations are organized primarily through two businesses: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health benefit plans and services, and Optum, which delivers health care services, technology, pharmacy care and data-driven solutions.

UnitedHealthcare serves individuals, employers, government programs and other organizations through products that include employer-sponsored health plans, individual and family coverage, Medicare and Medicaid plans, dental and vision benefits, and related administrative services.

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