Brokerages Set UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) PT at $615.16

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $615.58.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of UNH opened at $569.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $525.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $608.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $584.42 and a 200-day moving average of $534.68.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 162,741 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $80,508,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 938 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.3% during the first quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 10,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,033,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 9,892 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,894,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grassi Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 1,235 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.