UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Cut to $603.00 by Analysts at Barclays

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $604.00 to $603.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on UNH. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price target (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $569.98 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $608.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $526.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $584.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $536.30. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Insight Partners LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,475,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $2,905,000. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 152,107 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $75,247,000 after buying an additional 45,173 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 72,689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,126,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth $14,544,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently 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.