UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $570.05.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $493.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $454.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $486.36 and its 200 day moving average is $514.42.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Alta Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the first quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 94,902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $46,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,207 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,210,548 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $598,858,000 after acquiring an additional 6,381 shares in the last quarter. One Day In July LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 879 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 9,769 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,832,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.