Bank of America Downgrades UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) to Neutral

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $350.00 price target on the healthcare conglomerate's stock, down from their previous price target of $560.00. Bank of America's target price suggests a potential upside of 20.17% from the stock's previous close.

UNH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer lowered 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 report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $660.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $486.00.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH traded up $16.89 on Wednesday, reaching $291.24. The stock had a trading volume of 70,463,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,862,885. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $470.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $513.95. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $264.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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.