Analysts Set UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Target Price at $614.17

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the twenty analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $614.17.

Several brokerages have commented on UNH. Barclays upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE UNH opened at $581.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $607.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $537.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $579.40 and a 200-day moving average of $523.89.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 shares were 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 $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after acquiring an additional 544,740 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,893,331,000 after buying an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,961,369,000 after buying an additional 324,733 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,244,158,000 after acquiring an additional 542,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,094,247,000 after purchasing an additional 35,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.