UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 3.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's shares rose by 3.4% during trading on Tuesday, reaching a high of $262.88 before settling at $260.87, amidst a trading volume significantly lower than average.
• Recent analyses indicate a shifting outlook for the stock, with Mizuho lowering its target price from $515.00 to $350.00, and several analysts recommending a "sell" or "moderate sell" rating.
• UnitedHealth Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, which represents an annualized dividend yield of 3.4%, also indicating a strong dividend payout ratio of 38.30%.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) shares traded up 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $262.88 and last traded at $260.87. 4,511,489 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 12,052,662 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Baird R W cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

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 firm's fifty day moving average is $290.74 and its 200 day moving average is $403.22. The company has a market capitalization of $235.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were 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 $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $13,537,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,839 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,312,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $6,624,411,000 after purchasing an additional 675,075 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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