UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price traded up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $521.00 and last traded at $520.72. 725,008 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 3,235,017 shares. The stock had previously closed at $514.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $555.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $561.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $478.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 600.0% during the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 60 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.