UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 1.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's stock increased by 1.4%, trading at $353.26, after a high of $355.08 and a notable decline in trading volume.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock; Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $395.00, while Baird R W downgraded it to a "strong sell."
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.5%, with a payout ratio of 38.30%.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $355.08 and last traded at $353.26. 8,526,970 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 12,818,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $348.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Baird R W cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $358.95.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $304.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $357.57. The company has a market capitalization of $319.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings 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 UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,312,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $6,624,411,000 after purchasing an additional 675,075 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,837,207,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,729,912,000 after buying an additional 4,730,192 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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