UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $562.51 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $584.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $536.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 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 $608.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $519.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 5,512 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,727,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 8.0% in the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,247,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 113.3% in the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 197,274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $97,618,000 after purchasing an additional 104,798 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.