Barclays Increases 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 published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on UNH. Baird R W upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $565.33 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $581.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $504.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $500.73. The company has a market capitalization of $520.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.60.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly 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 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 analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.