UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Rating Lowered by Baird R W

Key Points

• Baird R W downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating, signaling negative investor sentiment.
• Other analysts have also reduced their ratings, with Raymond James lowering it to "market perform" and TD Cowen adjusting it to "hold" with a price target of $308.00.
• The stock has seen a significant decrease, down 6.2% with shares currently trading around $249.43, which is notably below its 52-week high of $630.73.

Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on UNH. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH traded down $12.16 on Thursday, reaching $237.40. 39,874,177 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,268,949. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $418.35. The firm has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.