FY2024 EPS Estimates for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Decreased by Analyst (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald cut their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst S. James now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $27.50 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $27.75. Cantor Fitzgerald has a “Overweight” rating and a $591.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.61 per share.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.26 earnings per share.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on UNH. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $486.37 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $448.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $487.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $514.76. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $5,802,231,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348,107 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,352 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 75.0% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,011,150 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,014,002,000 after acquiring an additional 862,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,627,311,000 after purchasing an additional 815,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.