UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 5.6% Following Dividend Announcement

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price was up 5.6% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $605.50 and last traded at $598.70. Approximately 2,716,285 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 3,881,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $567.03.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price objective (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 5.6 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $580.96 and a 200 day moving average of $543.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $552.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after buying an additional 544,740 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after buying an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,094,247,000 after acquiring an additional 35,533 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.