UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Receives $615.53 Average PT from Brokerages

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research 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 company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $615.53.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Stephens lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in 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 last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $589.65 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $582.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $550.66. The company has a market capitalization of $542.64 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.72%.

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.