Insider Buying: UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Director Acquires $511,570.00 in Stock

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $532.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $489.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $542.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $563.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. 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 lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $627.74.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $37,000. 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.