UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Earns Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $591.00 target price on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $581.44.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $504.28 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $499.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $500.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $464.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.60.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $3,426,000. Invst LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 7.1% during the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 332 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.4% during the third quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.