UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 5.6% Following Dividend Announcement

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares rose 5.6% on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $605.50 and last traded at $598.70. Approximately 2,716,285 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 3,881,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $567.03.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 target price (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $581.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $543.74. The company has a market capitalization of $559.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.56, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,018 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,027,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 610 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 18,926 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,074,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 22,294 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.