UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Raised to $562.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price raised by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $545.00 to $562.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

UNH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America reissued a buy rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $491.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $452.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $488.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $515.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,383 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,060 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,551,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 24,161 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,182,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,053,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.