UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price shot up 1.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $262.33 and last traded at $261.83. 7,719,353 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 9,796,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $391.00 to $327.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $372.13.

UnitedHealth Group Stock 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $290.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $322.26. The company has a market capitalization of $237.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.41.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted 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 for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.81 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,600,260 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,238,162,000 after buying an additional 995,210 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,232,170 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,931,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119,834 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,591,042 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,457,723,000 after purchasing an additional 824,120 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,829,054 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,215,660,000 after purchasing an additional 680,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,655,111 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,158,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,162 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.