UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Raised to $644.00 at Cantor Fitzgerald

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price increased by Cantor Fitzgerald from $591.00 to $644.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on UNH. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.16.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $571.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $527.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $608.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $584.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $532.84.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after purchasing an additional 880,183 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.