UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 3.2% After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group shares rose by 3.2% following the announcement of a $2.21 per share dividend, which will be paid on September 23rd to stockholders of record on September 15th.
• Analysts have given mixed ratings on UnitedHealth Group, with price targets ranging from $198.00 to $374.00, maintaining a consensus rating of "Hold."
• The company's recent quarterly earnings missed expectations, reporting $4.08 EPS compared to a forecast of $4.45, with revenue showing a 12.9% year-over-year increase.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 3.2% on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $271.85 and last traded at $269.99. 7,086,714 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 12,060,022 shares. The stock had previously closed at $261.57.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on UNH. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $198.00 price target (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $244.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.43. 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 fifty day moving average of $289.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $402.24.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 107,575 shares of company stock valued at $31,022,334 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 3,642 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

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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