UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 1.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group shares rose 1.4% following an upgrade from Wells Fargo, which increased the price target from $267 to $400.
• The current consensus rating for UnitedHealth Group is "Hold", with analysts expecting earnings per share of around 29.54 for the current year.
• Recently, several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in UnitedHealth Group, which is now owned 87.86% by these entities.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.4% during trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $267.00 to $400.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as high as $364.72 and last traded at $363.95. Approximately 7,193,623 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 12,763,588 shares. The stock had previously closed at $358.77.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $365.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.8% during the third quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 15,371 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $5,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,077 shares in the last quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $249,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 140.8% during the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 521.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,232,251 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $425,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,912 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $329.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.47. The stock's 50-day moving average is $309.38 and its 200 day moving average is $352.34.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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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