UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:UNH traded down $2.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $594.10. 3,365,978 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,066,913. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $560.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $515.54. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $607.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $548.60 billion, a PE ratio of 36.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.