UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.28 EPS

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. UnitedHealth Group updated its FY 2024 guidance to 27.500-28.000 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $27.50-28.00 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $478.99 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70. The company has a market capitalization of $441.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $489.51 and a 200-day moving average of $515.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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 dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Power Corp of Canada bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. O Dell Group LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. now owns 173 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNH. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.68.

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.