UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 3.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price traded up 3.8% during trading on Thursday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $545.00 to $562.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as high as $502.00 and last traded at $497.16. 3,324,919 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 4,448,372 shares. The stock had previously closed at $478.99.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on UNH. Barclays upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $488.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $515.13.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

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.