UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 0.4%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares traded up 0.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $580.70 and last traded at $580.02. 171,485 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 4,202,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $577.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Baird R W raised UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $535.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $529.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $507.42.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 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 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.