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

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

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on UNH. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $528.94 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $486.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $543.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $563.78.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Private Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently 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.