Bank of America Lowers UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target to $300.00

Key Points

• Bank of America has reduced its price target for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from $350.00 to $300.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• UnitedHealth Group stock is currently valued at $264.49, reflecting a significant drop during recent trading, with an average target price from analysts set at $389.90.
• Insider activity has increased, with notable purchases by Director Kristen Gil and CFO John F. Rex, indicating confidence in the stock despite the current downturn.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by Bank of America from $350.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Bank of America's price objective suggests a potential upside of 26.37% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 4.9%

NYSE UNH traded down $12.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $237.40. 39,874,177 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,998,967. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $298.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $418.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after buying an additional 5,583,343 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $13,537,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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.