UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 1.8% – Should You Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price shot up 1.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $630.73 and last traded at $626.98. 759,432 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 3,891,217 shares. The stock had previously closed at $615.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $582.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $547.62. The stock has a market cap of $557.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.60, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third 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 last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is 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.