UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Given New $610.00 Price Target at HSBC

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price objective hoisted by HSBC from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $565.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $520.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $504.56 and its 200-day moving average is $500.44. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $581.50.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on 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 $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after acquiring an additional 544,740 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,961,369,000 after buying an additional 324,733 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after buying an additional 542,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $5,802,231,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.