UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Baird R W

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Baird R W from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded down $5.77 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $312.73. 9,803,145 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,166,438. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $391.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $476.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $283.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $22,384,000 after buying an additional 28,231 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,233,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 196,907 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $99,607,000 after purchasing an additional 22,059 shares during the period. 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.