Mizuho Cuts UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target to $350.00

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

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $486.00.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 6.2%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $291.24 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $470.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $513.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 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.