UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $632.85.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Barclays reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $583.43 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $514.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $542.12. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $438.50 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $533.67 billion, a PE ratio of 37.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.