UnitedHealth Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 145,490 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 120% compared to the average volume of 66,007 call options.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Conway sold 1,169 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $455,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,977,920. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $460.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $429.00 to $441.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $470.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $440.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $456.56.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $9.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $378.83. The company had a trading volume of 7,258,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,611,319. The stock has a market cap of $340.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $255.96 and a 12-month high of $461.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $409.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $367.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $1.44. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 3.14%.The company had revenue of $112.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 19.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, September 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.32 per share. This represents a $9.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.72%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a diversified health care and well-being company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Its operations are organized primarily through two businesses: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health benefit plans and services, and Optum, which delivers health care services, technology, pharmacy care and data-driven solutions.

UnitedHealthcare serves individuals, employers, government programs and other organizations through products that include employer-sponsored health plans, individual and family coverage, Medicare and Medicaid plans, dental and vision benefits, and related administrative services.