UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) PT Lowered to $650.00 at UBS Group

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price trimmed by UBS Group from $680.00 to $650.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stephens lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. HSBC upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $615.16.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $571.30 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63. The stock has a market cap of $527.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $584.21 and its 200 day moving average is $532.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,262.2% during the 1st quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,623 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,202,000 after buying an additional 19,109 shares during the last quarter. Marion Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 4,733 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Emprise Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,908,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 225.8% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 694 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.