UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Earns Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $591.00 price target on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $588.63 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $566.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $517.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $541.77 billion, a PE ratio of 35.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $5,802,231,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $480,903,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.