UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $488.39 and last traded at $487.45. Approximately 570,789 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 4,129,853 shares. The stock had previously closed at $484.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $469.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $498.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $502.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $5,802,231,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,107 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after buying an additional 1,195,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.