UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. UnitedHealth Group updated its FY 2024 guidance to 27.500-28.000 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $27.50-28.00 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $478.99 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $489.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $515.38. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The stock has a market cap of $441.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% in the first quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 31.8% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 250,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $127,592,000 after acquiring an additional 60,300 shares during the period. MAS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the first quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at about $875,000. Hedge funds and other 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.