UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $591.00 price target on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

UNH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $580.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $565.33 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $504.56 and its 200-day moving average is $500.73. The stock has a market cap of $520.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $581.50.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.