Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $563.00 to $374.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential upside of 17.84% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.57.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $6.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $317.39. The company had a trading volume of 10,862,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,996,842. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business's 50 day moving average price is $482.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $519.28. The stock has a market cap of $287.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $309.10 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,320 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 629 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Tlwm raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Tlwm now owns 2,708 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Lpwm LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.8% in the fourth quarter. Lpwm LLC now owns 866 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,223 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,630,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 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.

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