UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $591.00 target price on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

UNH has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $580.32 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $607.94. The firm has a market cap of $535.88 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $574.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $519.42. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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 value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 105.8% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 688 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 875 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,165,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $61,519,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,898,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.