UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) rose 1.2% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $287.40 and last traded at $285.5490. Approximately 4,798,249 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 9,713,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $282.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $430.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore raised UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.13.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $259.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $303.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $325.26.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $113.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.38 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 2.69%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.81 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,059,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $1,572,193,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 105,621 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,471,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 48.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,790 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,806,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 111.5% in the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 41,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,282,000 after purchasing an additional 22,137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.