UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28, RTT News reports. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $485.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $447.66 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $489.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $515.38.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 250,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $127,592,000 after purchasing an additional 60,300 shares during the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth $875,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.