UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $627.58.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $513.84 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $557.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $561.72. The firm has a market cap of $472.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,975,000 after buying an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,060,000 after purchasing an additional 41,308 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $21,165,000. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $558,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after buying an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.