UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $627.74.
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.
Get Our Latest Report on UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.74 EPS for the current year.
UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after acquiring an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,440,133,000 after purchasing an additional 318,039 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,197,167 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,869,320,000 after purchasing an additional 107,097 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
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