Q2 2023 EPS Estimates for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Decreased by Analyst (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) – Equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group lowered their Q2 2023 earnings estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report issued on Tuesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst D. Windley now anticipates that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $6.38 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $6.39. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $24.82 per share. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s FY2024 earnings at $28.15 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $5.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $82.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.53 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 27.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.48 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on UNH. Raymond James cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $615.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 21st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. SVB Leerink decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $618.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $587.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $575.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $599.28.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $486.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $445.73 and a 52 week high of $558.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $454.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $519.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $524.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.8% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 36,853,394 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,929,009,000 after acquiring an additional 5,556,335 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,682.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,691,542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,372,606,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540,538 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 214.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,648,123 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $832,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,340 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $537,996,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,752,598 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,400,252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047,892 shares in the last quarter. 86.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 450 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $542.30, for a total value of $244,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,736 shares in the company, valued at $4,737,532.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $1.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 2nd. This represents a $6.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.15%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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 well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs for preventive and acute health care services, as well as services dealing with chronic disease and other specialized issues for older individuals; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; health and dental benefits; and hospital and clinical services.