UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 3.5% – Should You Buy?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 3.4 %

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

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid 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 is currently 54.19%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Wallace Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by 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.