Barclays Raises UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target to $604.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $560.00 to $604.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $565.33 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $504.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $500.73. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $581.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $520.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.60.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.14 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Thomasville National Bank boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 1,292 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $2,016,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,608,000. Unique Wealth LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $3,297,000. Institutional investors 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.