UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 4.8% – What’s Next?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price shot up 4.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $341.41 and last traded at $340.1310. 9,708,361 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 11,997,692 shares. The stock had previously closed at $324.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNH. TD Cowen raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seventeen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $341.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $315.93.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 46.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

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

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.