UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 0.8%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shot up 0.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $583.81 and last traded at $583.41. 423,101 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 4,189,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $578.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on UNH. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $534.40 billion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $534.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $508.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.14 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.