Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $605.00 to $600.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Piper Sandler's target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.93% from the stock's previous close.

UNH has been the topic of several other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $628.37.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock traded down $1.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $504.51. 3,725,235 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,107,280. The company has a 50-day moving average of $561.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $560.42. The company has a market capitalization of $464.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SK Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $351,000. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,209,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. IMS Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 3,626 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,120,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 29.1% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 783,143 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $457,888,000 after acquiring an additional 176,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1ST Source Bank boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 1,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.