UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Given New $350.00 Price Target at Mizuho

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price target trimmed by Mizuho from $515.00 to $350.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $660.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $490.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $486.00.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 6.2%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $291.24 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $470.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $513.25.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $563,000. Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 526 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 594 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Park Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 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.