UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 7,433,735 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the previous session’s volume of 6,662,273 shares.The stock last traded at $301.22 and had previously closed at $295.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on UNH. Raymond James downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Argus lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $269.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $435.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $496.39.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,914,740,000. 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.