UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 4.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's stock price increased by 4.5% following an upgrade from Truist Financial, raising its price target from $310 to $365, with the stock last trading at $334.77.
• The company reported earnings of $4.08 per share, which was below the consensus estimate, while quarterly revenue of $111.62 billion slightly missed expectations.
• UnitedHealth Group announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%, with payment scheduled for September 23rd.

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) shot up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $365.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as high as $334.45 and last traded at $334.77. 11,635,371 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 12,800,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.25.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $355.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% during the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 3,642 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,907,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 9.4%

The firm has a market cap of $317.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $288.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $371.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%.UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

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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