UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $427.09.

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Robert W. Baird lowered UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE UNH opened at $305.59 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $347.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $459.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

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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