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

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price rose 3.8% during trading on Thursday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $545.00 to $562.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy 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.

UNH has been the topic of several other reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Robbins Farley bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake 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 1.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $462.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $488.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $515.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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