UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 1.6% - Should You Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $305.64 and last traded at $302.80. Approximately 5,182,982 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 6,739,447 shares. The stock had previously closed at $298.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 target price (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $439.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $276.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The business's fifty day moving average is $430.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted 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 during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.