UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 5% Following Strong Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price shot up 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $479.75 and last traded at $467.80. 5,622,850 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 4,314,540 shares. The stock had previously closed at $445.63.

The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.68.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Robbins Farley acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.2 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $489.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $515.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54.

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.