UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 1.5% – Should You Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $571.50 and last traded at $569.20. 623,838 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 3,927,385 shares. The stock had previously closed at $560.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $583.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $536.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.78 billion, a PE ratio of 37.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.