UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price was up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $521.00 and last traded at $520.72. Approximately 725,008 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 3,235,017 shares. The stock had previously closed at $514.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.58.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $482.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $557.79 and its 200-day moving average is $561.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.