UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 7,979,945 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 30% from the previous session’s volume of 6,122,074 shares.The stock last traded at $316.35 and had previously closed at $315.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $451.43.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $291.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $467.51 and its 200 day moving average is $511.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,304,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.