Truist Financial Boosts UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target to $640.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price upped by Truist Financial from $600.00 to $640.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an outperform rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $565.58 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $504.56 and a 200-day moving average of $501.00. The company has a market capitalization of $520.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.60. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $581.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Sharkey Howes & Javer grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Sharkey Howes & Javer now owns 564 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Bensler LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 7,313 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,850,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 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.