UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 0.5%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares were up 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $592.84 and last traded at $590.40. Approximately 402,124 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 4,113,202 shares. The stock had previously closed at $587.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $539.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $510.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $540.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.59.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after buying an additional 544,740 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,961,369,000 after buying an additional 324,733 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,244,158,000 after buying an additional 542,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,802,231,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.