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

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $501.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $462.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $488.63 and its 200-day moving average is $515.13.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at about $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% during the first quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 31.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 250,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $127,592,000 after acquiring an additional 60,300 shares during the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the first quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at about $875,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.