UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business 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

Shares of UNH opened at $478.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $489.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $515.38. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 60,300 shares during the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $875,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.68.

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.