UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus increased their target price 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, TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $580.32 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $574.38 and its 200 day moving average is $519.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $535.88 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 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 current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 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 value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in 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 buying an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.