Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Barclays to $350.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.42% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on UNH. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.43.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $7.40 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $303.24. 12,558,756 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,976,600. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $413.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $486.09.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors 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.