UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 1.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's stock rose 1.6% following an upgrade from Sanford C. Bernstein, which increased the price target from $337.00 to $379.00 while maintaining an outperform rating.
• The company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates, but experienced a 12.9% year-over-year revenue increase, totaling $111.62 billion.
• UnitedHealth Group declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, reflecting a 2.8% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 38.30%.

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) traded up 1.6% on Monday after Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on the stock from $337.00 to $379.00. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has an outperform rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as high as $320.75 and last traded at $320.57. 7,216,448 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 12,742,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $315.39.

UNH has been the topic of a number of other reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $342.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $354.86.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 18,741 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $9,480,000 after buying an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. Humankind Investments LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 2,529 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KKM Financial LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 5,439 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,751,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $290.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.44. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 38.30%.

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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