UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading 0.1% Higher – Time to Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) traded up 0.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $511.00 and last traded at $508.23. 637,348 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,092,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $507.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $561.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $560.42.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 600.0% during the 2nd quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is 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.