UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the twenty-one analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $629.32.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,914,740,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $955,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,186 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE UNH opened at $517.72 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $510.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $546.71. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. 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 company has a market capitalization of $473.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

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.