UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 0% After Dividend Announcement

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares were up 0% during trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $568.99 and last traded at $568.37. Approximately 1,319,276 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 4,281,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $568.35.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $520.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $517.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $503.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 8.8% in the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 40,767 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,761,000 after buying an additional 3,311 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 18.2% in the second quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,621 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 294.9% in the second quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 36,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,483,000 after purchasing an additional 27,103 shares during the period. Lane & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.7% in the second quarter. Lane & Associates LLC now owns 539 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 90,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $45,983,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. 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.