UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 7,433,735 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the previous session's volume of 6,662,273 shares.The stock last traded at $301.22 and had previously closed at $295.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Argus lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $439.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $498.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by 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.