UBS Group Cuts UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target to $385.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price target decreased by UBS Group from $400.00 to $385.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $312.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $308.85 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $336.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.51.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth $17,766,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,127,586 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $590,463,000 after acquiring an additional 280,554 shares during the period. Maple Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 68,861 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $36,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 46,400 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $24,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Cim LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Cim LLC now owns 38,519 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $20,174,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.