Wells Fargo & Company Lowers UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target to $267.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has lowered the price target for UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.77% based on the current price.
• Recent ratings by analysts show a shift in sentiment, with three analystsseveral others
• Despite a 12.9% year-over-year revenue increase, UnitedHealth Group missed earnings expectations in its last quarterly report, posting $4.08 EPS against the consensus estimate of $4.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $306.00 to $267.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.77% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $198.00 price target (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $371.67.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $3.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $241.05. 5,538,047 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,947,165. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business's fifty day moving average is $296.86 and its 200-day moving average is $414.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.80 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $9,368,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $277,641,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $815,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $39,413,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently 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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