UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Given “Overweight” Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

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

UNH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Baird R W raised UnitedHealth Group to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $589.16 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $607.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $542.25 billion, a PE ratio of 36.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $571.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $518.38.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,275,000 after buying an additional 2,782 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 102.8% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 14,774 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,778,000 after acquiring an additional 7,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. 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.