UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Baird R W raised shares of UnitedHealth Group to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.2 %

UNH opened at $565.33 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $504.56 and its 200-day moving average is $500.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $520.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.60. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $581.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $6.14 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Sharkey Howes & Javer raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Sharkey Howes & Javer now owns 564 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Bensler LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 7,313 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,850,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.