UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $584.51 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $537.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $509.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $539.75 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $591.54.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 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.