UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Cut to $337.00 by Analysts at Barclays

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $350.00 to $337.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $415.00.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded up $4.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $303.81. The company had a trading volume of 9,789,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,687,343. The firm has a market cap of $275.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $314.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $440.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.