UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

UNH has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. HSBC lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $590.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $550.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $512.88. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $593.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $545.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.67 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.