Shares Of UnitedHealth Holding On To Early Morning Gains Following Q4 Print

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH were trading higher by nearly 4 percent at $113.36 late Tuesday morning.

UnitedHealth Group's stock opened for trading at $111.49 and quickly dipped to an intra-day low of $109.60 before recovering and trading solidly in positive territory.

UnitedHealth Group reported its fourth quarter results prior to the opening bell. The company said it earned $1.40 per share on revenue of $43.6 billion. Earnings from operations totaled $2.5 billion during the quarter.

Wall Street analysts were expecting UnitedHealth Group to earn $1.38 per share on revenue of $43.23 billion during the quarter.

UnitedHealth Group also said that its revenue for the full fiscal year ending December 31, 2015 rose more than 20 percent from a year ago to $157.1 billion while earnings from operations rose to $11.0 billion from $10.3 billion.

UnitedHealth also affirmed its full year 2016 outlook and expects its revenue to grow to more than $180 billion and net earnings to total $7.60 to $7.80 per share. The company also expects its cash flows from operations to be between $9.5 billion to $10 billion.

"The people of UnitedHealth Group are focused sharply on executing fully on 2016 commitments and delivering the highest quality experience for those we are privileged to serve. These efforts are reflected in continuing strong growth as we enter the new year," said Stephen J. Hemsley, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group.