UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shot up 0.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $488.39 and last traded at $487.45. 570,789 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 4,129,853 shares. The stock had previously closed at $484.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 4.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $498.34 and its 200-day moving average is $502.27. The stock has a market cap of $469.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,626,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,752 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.