UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Raised to $352.00 at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays raised UnitedHealth Group's price target from $337.00 to $352.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.46% from its current price.
• Despite the price target increase, UnitedHealth Group reported earnings that missed analyst expectations, with an EPS of $4.08 compared to an anticipated $4.45.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on UnitedHealth Group, with 15 ratings of "Buy," 6 "Hold," and 3 "Sell," resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Barclays from $337.00 to $352.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.46% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wolfe Research decreased 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. KeyCorp cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $342.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $353.71.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of UNH stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $307.54. 2,517,800 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,740,501. The stock has a market cap of $278.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $288.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $377.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,312,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $6,624,411,000 after buying an additional 675,075 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,837,207,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,729,912,000 after acquiring an additional 4,730,192 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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