Brokerages Set UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) PT at $596.86

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-four research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $596.86.

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNH. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.4 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $9.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $395.21. The company had a trading volume of 7,831,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,648,574. The firm's fifty day moving average is $494.68 and its 200-day moving average is $527.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $393.11 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 35.18%.

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.