UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Given New $286.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has lowered its target price for UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00, while maintaining an "outperform" rating, indicating a potential upside of approximately 9.84% from the stock's previous close.
• UnitedHealth Group's stock recently traded down 0.3% to $260.38, with a market capitalization of $236.20 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.89.
• Despite recent downgrades from several analysts, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $378.95, reflecting mixed investor sentiment.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $355.00 to $286.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock.

UNH has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 19th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $378.95.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.1%

UNH stock traded up $5.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $266.43. The stock had a trading volume of 22,302,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,886,933. The firm has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $420.36. 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.16 by ($1.08). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.80 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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. Capital International Investors lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during 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 valued at $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.