UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 5% After Insider Buying Activity

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 5% on Monday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $306.81 and last traded at $306.63. 23,489,270 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 295% from the average session volume of 5,952,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $291.91.

Specifically, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 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 other UnitedHealth Group news, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Mizuho reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $461.19.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $279.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $470.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $513.25.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.18%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 47.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 77,751 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $40,722,000 after purchasing an additional 25,094 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 197,587 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $103,486,000 after acquiring an additional 5,964 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 43,709 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,893,000 after purchasing an additional 3,310 shares during the period. Peloton Wealth Strategists raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 10,320 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $5,405,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 26,535 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $13,898,000 after buying an additional 4,730 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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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