UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $564.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $521.33 billion, a PE ratio of 37.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $583.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $536.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.56 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the 2nd 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 raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.