UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Raised to $560.00 at Barclays

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Barclays from $534.00 to $560.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $571.20.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $11.39 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $480.28. 6,631,769 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,434,561. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $490.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $515.63. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The company has a market cap of $442.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,268,753,000 after purchasing an additional 11,812,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $5,802,231,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,682.4% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,691,542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,372,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540,538 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,107 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 143.4% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,494,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,679,401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,829 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.