UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $615.53.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $560.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $517.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $584.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $536.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $608.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.56 earnings per share. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after purchasing an additional 544,740 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after buying an additional 94,641 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,094,247,000 after buying an additional 35,533 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.