UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley analysts raised their price target for UnitedHealth Group from $325 to $395, suggesting a potential upside of 10.21% from the current stock price.
• Despite the price increase from some analysts, other firms have issued downgrades or lower price targets, with consensus showing 16 "Buy," 6 "Hold," and 3 "Sell" ratings for the stock.
• UnitedHealth Group reported a net margin of 5.04% and earnings of $4.08 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, while annual revenue saw a 12.9% increase year-over-year.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $325.00 to $395.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.21% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $358.95.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $4.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $358.39. The company had a trading volume of 6,731,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,035,737. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $291.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $370.48. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $277,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $515,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 38,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $19,625,000 after acquiring an additional 12,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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