UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 2.3% – Here’s Why

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose 2.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $328.00 and last traded at $326.2310. Approximately 6,072,757 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 12,123,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $319.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Baird R W lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a market cap of $298.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $343.60 and a 200 day moving average of $315.11.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 83 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.