UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price rose 1.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $344.98 and last traded at $341.8330. Approximately 7,687,272 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 11,828,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $336.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $423.00 to $417.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5%

The company has a market cap of $309.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $339.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $317.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.15 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.14%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitlin John LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% in the second quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth $1,324,000. Wealth Effects LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 48.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,790 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.