UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $577.10 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $607.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $532.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $575.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $519.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second 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 period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.