UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $580.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an outperform rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $509.26 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The firm has a market cap of $468.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $498.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $501.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.55 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.