Early Movers: UNH, ADM, CAH & More

Market Insider | What's Shaking | Earnings to Watch | Before the Bell

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell on Tuesday:

UnitedHealth - Goldman Sachs has upgraded the stock to "buy" and added it to its "Conviction Buy List." Goldman said valuations are low in the industry in general, and that UnitedHealth is in position to outperform its health-care peers based on superior execution.

Archer Daniels Midland - ADM reported quarterly profit of $0.60 per share, excluding certain items, two cents above estimates. The crop producer says it was able to manage challenges from the U.S. drought and negative margins in the ethanol industry.

Cardinal Health - The insurer reported quarterly profit of $0.93 per share, excluding certain items, seven cents above estimates. Cardinal said new customer wins are helping offset a revenue decline in the company's pharmaceutical segment.


Diamond Offshore Drilling - The oilfield services company earned $1.12 per share for the fourth quarter, two cents above estimates. Revenue also beat consensus, and Diamond also declared a special dividend of $0.75 per share.

MasterCard - The credit card issuer has doubled its quarterly dividend to $0.60 per share from $0.30, and has also announced a new $2 billion share buyback program.

Becton Dickinson - The medical device maker earned $1.35 per share for its latest quarter, compared to estimates of $1.24, as revenue grew in all its segments and profit margins widened.

Yum Brands - The restaurant chain reports fourth-quarter profit of $0.83 per share, one cent above estimates. However, same-store sales in China – its fastest growing market – fell 6 percent, and the parent of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut said it no longer expects to achieve any earnings growth in 2013 as it deals with a food safety scare in China.

Boeing – The jetmaker has asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to resume test flights of its currently grounded 787 jets. CNBC's Phil LeBeau reports that Boeing now sees a need to test the batteries and other components in flight.

BP – BP is reporting an 80 percent drop in quarterly profit, mostly due to payouts from the 2010 Gulf oil spill. However, its fourth-quarter profit of $1.62 billion was above analysts' expectations.

Barclays - The bank has set aside another $1.6 billion dollars for customers who were allegedly sold various products on misleading terms. This marks the fourth such set-aside for Barclays, going back nearly two years.

(Read More: Barclays Finance Director Lucas, Top Counsel to Retire)

Limited Brands – The retailer is increasing its quarterly dividend by 20 percent, with its new quarterly payout set at $0.30 per share from the prior $0.25.

J.C. Penney – The company has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to block bondholders from declaring a default on nearly $3 billion in debt. A bondholders group is claiming that the retailer violated its bond agreements by granting a lien on its inventory, and that the debt can now be declared payable in less than three months.

McGraw-Hill Cos. - The Standard & Poor's parent is the target of a civil lawsuit by the government over financial crisis-era ratings. The stock was hit hard in Monday trading on reports that the suit would be filed, as was competitor Moody's.

Anadarko Petroleum - Anadarko reported fourth-quarter profit of $0.91 per share, 20 cents above estimates, as the company was able to produce more higher priced oil from the Gulf of Mexico and from U.S. shale basins.

Baidu.com – Baidu earned $1.28 per share for the fourth quarter, a penny below estimates. China's biggest search engine operator saw its slowest profit growth in three years during the quarter due to competition and a shift to mobile search.

Gilead Sciences - The drugmaker reported fourth-quarter profit of $0.50 per share, excluding certain items, two cents above estimates, with revenue also above consensus. The quarter's bottom line was driven by increased sales of Gilead's HIV drugs.

Hartford Financial Services Group - The insurer earned $0.54 for the fourth quarter, well above estimates of $0.30, as it was able to command higher prices for its property and casualty insurance. Hartford also said it's planning to buy back shares and cut its debt load by $1 billion.

Edwards Lifesciences – Edwards beat analyst estimates by 13 cents a share, with fourth-quarter profit of $0.90 per share. Revenue was also above analysts' estimates, driven by sales of its new "Sapien" heart valves.

Toyota Motor – The automaker has raised its fiscal-year profit forecast to $9.3 billion from the prior $8.5 billion, thanks to increasing sales and a favorable exchange rate.

BlackBerry - CEO Thorsten Heins told AP he's disappointed that new phones featuring the BlackBerry 10 operating system won't be released until mid-March, but said sales in the U.K. already appear to be above expectations.

Zynga - Bank of America/Merrill Lynch has upgraded the stock to "buy" from "underperform."

(Read More: Earnings Preview—Zynga Under Pressure)

(Read More: See CNBC's Market Insider Blog)

—By CNBC's Peter Schacknow

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