Leerink Partnrs Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Leerink Partnrs dropped their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 16th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now expects that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $6.84 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $6.95. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.74 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q3 2024 earnings at $7.22 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $7.67 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $7.74 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $8.17 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.62 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $46.14 EPS.

UNH has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of UNH opened at $501.29 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The company has a market cap of $462.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $488.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $515.13.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 72,689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,126,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 16.3% in the first quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 19,623 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $9,709,000 after purchasing an additional 2,755 shares during the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% in the first quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,385 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. GenTrust LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.7% in the first quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% in the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,335 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

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.