UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 7,433,735 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 12% from the previous session’s volume of 6,662,273 shares.The stock last traded at $301.22 and had previously closed at $295.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $513.00 to $362.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $443.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $500.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 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.