Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of UnitedHealth Group Call Options (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. Traders purchased 227,237 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 9% compared to the average daily volume of 207,887 call options.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $133,373,000 after purchasing an additional 9,872 shares during the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,829 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $12.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $269.44. 21,043,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,449,892. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $422.56. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $244.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.16 by ($1.08). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.80 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $392.29.

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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