UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 2.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's shares rose by 2.2% following an upgrade from Jefferies Financial Group, which increased the price target from $317.00 to $409.00.
• Various analysts have also raised their targets for UnitedHealth, with Mizuho setting a new target of $430.00 and Barclays adjusting theirs to $386.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 2.2% on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $317.00 to $409.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as high as $365.57 and last traded at $364.31. 5,955,534 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 12,539,346 shares. The stock had previously closed at $356.60.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. KeyCorp raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an "underperform" rating and set a $198.00 target price (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $385.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% in 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 buying an additional 2,486,839 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $3,837,207,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,729,912,000 after buying an additional 4,730,192 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $329.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $342.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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