UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 0.8%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shot up 0.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Baird R W upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $531.06 and its 200-day moving average is $507.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $536.18 billion, a PE ratio of 35.56, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.59.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 75,602 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $39,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,537 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Insight Partners LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,475,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.