Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock

Key Points

• Mizuho raised UnitedHealth Group’s price target from $493 to $500 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying nearly 20% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 20 Buy ratings and eight Holds; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $463.80.
• UnitedHealth exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.69 in EPS versus a $4.14 estimate and $112.7 billion in revenue, while institutional investors own 87.86% of the stock.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Mizuho from $493.00 to $500.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Mizuho's target price points to a potential upside of 19.92% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on UNH. DA Davidson set a $512.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $441.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $440.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $401.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $463.80.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock opened at $416.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $387.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $388.48. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $255.96 and a fifty-two week high of $461.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.60.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.14 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $112.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.31 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 17.95% and a net margin of 3.53%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 20.500- EPS. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 20.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Conway sold 1,169 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total value of $455,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,977,920. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Virtue Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Virtue Asset Management LLC now owns 2,370 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $870,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.4% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Group Inc. now owns 586 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. NBT Bank N.A. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $4,793,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.7% during the third quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 22.3% in the third quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,241 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,291,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated NYSE: UNH is a diversified health care company that provides health insurance coverage, health care services, pharmacy services and health technology. Its businesses serve individuals, employers, government programs, health care providers and other organizations, primarily in the United States.

The company operates through two principal businesses. UnitedHealthcare offers health benefit plans and related services for employers, individuals, families and government-sponsored programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.