UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 0.9% After Dividend Announcement

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares rose 0.9% on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $603.62 and last traded at $602.08. Approximately 891,045 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,886,085 shares. The stock had previously closed at $596.69.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $581.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $543.74. The company has a market cap of $555.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $2,905,000. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,976 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,603,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 20,377 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $14,544,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.