UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading 3.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares were up 3.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $541.41 and last traded at $541.41. Approximately 2,073,497 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 4,227,660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $523.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 3.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $494.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $509.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $542.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,933,000 after acquiring an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $319,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 23,828 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,932,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 41,606 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $24,269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.