Robert W. Baird Reiterates "Underperform" Rating for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's stock rating has been reiterated as "underperform" by Robert W. Baird with a new price target of $198.00, indicating a potential downside of 23.54% from its last close.
• The stock has seen mixed analyst ratings, with two sell ratings, eight holds, and 15 buy ratings, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $373.52.
• In recent insider trading, both CFO John F. Rex and CEO Stephen J. Hemsley significantly increased their shareholdings, with Rex buying 17,175 shares valued at approximately $5 million and Hemsley purchasing 86,700 shares worth over $25 million.

Robert W. Baird reissued their underperform rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $198.00 target price on the healthcare conglomerate's stock, down from their previous target price of $312.00.

A number of other research firms have also commented on UNH. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Argus lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $8.74 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $240.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,112,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,759,464. The company has a market cap of $218.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $241.35 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $298.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $418.35.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 worth $13,537,859,000 after acquiring an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during 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.