UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Baird R W raised shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE UNH traded down $2.78 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $594.10. 3,365,978 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,066,913. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $607.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $548.60 billion, a PE ratio of 36.31, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $560.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $515.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $5,802,231,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after buying an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $480,903,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.