UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) To Go Ex-Dividend on September 16th

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 7th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of 2.10 per share by the healthcare conglomerate on Tuesday, September 24th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th.

UnitedHealth Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 14.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. UnitedHealth Group has a payout ratio of 27.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect UnitedHealth Group to earn $31.21 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $8.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.9%.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $593.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $607.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $548.50 billion, a PE ratio of 36.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $569.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $517.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

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.