UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on UNH. Raymond James restated a strong-buy rating and issued a $630.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $592.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, April 17th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $562.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $617.00 to $627.00 in a report on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $600.88.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $478.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $445.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $449.70 and a 52-week high of $558.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $488.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $500.92.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $91.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.77 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 27.05% and a net margin of 6.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $1.65 per share. This represents a $6.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 6,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.49, for a total transaction of $3,002,938.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,564 shares in the company, valued at $42,199,084.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.58, for a total value of $488,456.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,019,764.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Andrew Witty sold 6,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.49, for a total value of $3,002,938.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,564 shares in the company, valued at $42,199,084.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,852 shares of company stock worth $4,313,962 over the last ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 25 LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Kalos Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at $34,000. 86.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About UnitedHealth Group

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UnitedHealth Group, Inc engages in the provision of health care coverage, software, and data consultancy services. It operates through the following segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight, and OptumRx. The UnitedHealthcare segment utilizes Optum’s capabilities to help coordinate patient care, improve affordability of medical care, analyze cost trends, manage pharmacy benefits, work with care providers more effectively, and create a simpler consumer experience.