UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Given New $356.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Robert W. Baird from $510.00 to $356.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on UNH. Mizuho increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $486.00.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 6.2%

Shares of UNH traded up $16.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $291.24. The company had a trading volume of 70,463,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,862,879. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $264.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $515.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director John H. Noseworthy purchased 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first 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 period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 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.