UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Cut to $603.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $604.00 to $603.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price objective (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $564.56 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $608.63. The company has a market cap of $521.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $583.52 and a 200-day moving average of $537.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after buying an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth approximately $480,903,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.