UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 3.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was up 3.8% on Thursday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $566.00 to $571.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as high as $502.00 and last traded at $497.16. Approximately 3,324,919 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 4,448,372 shares. The stock had previously closed at $478.99.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on UNH. Barclays raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $569.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 31.8% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 250,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $127,592,000 after buying an additional 60,300 shares during the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the first quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth $875,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 3.0 %

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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $488.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $515.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $454.66 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.75 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, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

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.