Cantor Fitzgerald Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH)

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $591.00 price target on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $589.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $542.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $571.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $518.38.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.