UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group shares experienced a significant increase, opening at $301.71 after a previous close of $271.49 and last traded at $302.86.
• The company reported $4.08 EPS for the latest quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $4.45, while revenue increased by 12.9% year-over-year.
• UnitedHealth Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%, with a dividend payout ratio of 38.30%.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $271.49, but opened at $301.71. UnitedHealth Group shares last traded at $302.86, with a volume of 22,593,588 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America cut 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, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $198.00 price objective (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $288.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $399.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $280.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 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 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $9,368,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $277,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $39,413,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.