Robert W. Baird Cuts UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target to $510.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price objective trimmed by Robert W. Baird from $640.00 to $510.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on UNH. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $490.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $652.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.8 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $400.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $364.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $497.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $529.82. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $399.86 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 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.