UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Raised to $625.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price target increased by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

UNH has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target for the company. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $625.26.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $578.97 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $587.48 and a 200-day moving average of $558.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $532.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.72, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,742,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 9,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,322,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 287 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after acquiring an additional 193,800 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 70,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 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.