UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Forecasted to Post Q2 2024 Earnings of $6.84 Per Share (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued on Tuesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $6.84 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $6.95. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.75 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q3 2024 earnings at $7.22 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $7.67 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $7.74 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $8.17 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.62 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $46.14 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.68.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $493.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $454.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.14, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $488.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $515.22.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,268,753,000 after buying an additional 11,812,017 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,802,231,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,540,538 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,515,000 after buying an additional 2,348,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 143.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,494,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,679,401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,829 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.