UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $591.00 price target on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on UNH. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $580.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $535.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $607.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $574.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $519.42.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently 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.