UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on UNH. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $575.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $578.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $522.89. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve 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 cap of $530.98 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently 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.