UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Up 3.2% After Dividend Announcement

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price was up 3.2% on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $271.85 and last traded at $269.99. Approximately 7,086,714 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 12,060,022 shares. The stock had previously closed at $261.57.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $289.37 and its 200-day moving average is $401.34.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 26.9% during the second quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 825 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 240.9% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,806 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,983 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth approximately $377,000. Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,474,000. Finally, Victory Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 217.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 4,412 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after buying an additional 3,021 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.