UnitedHealth Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group saw a significant surge in options trading, with over 227,000 call options purchased, marking a 9% increase from its average daily volume.
• Insiders, including CFO John F. Rex and CEO Stephen J. Hemsley, increased their ownership by 9.20% and 14.63% respectively, with major transactions valued at nearly $30 million combined.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08, missing analysts' expectations of $5.16, despite a 12.9% year-over-year revenue increase.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 227,237 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately9% compared to the average daily volume of 207,887 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $373.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 4.9%

NYSE:UNH traded down $12.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $237.40. 39,874,177 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,998,967. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $418.35.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.