UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $614.17.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. HSBC upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. 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 report on Wednesday, July 17th. Baird R W upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,275,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 102.8% during the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 14,774 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,778,000 after purchasing an additional 7,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 965 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $575.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $529.22 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $577.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $521.14. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

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.