UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Credit Suisse Group from $252.00 to $260.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock. Credit Suisse Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.64% from the stock’s previous close.
Several other equities research analysts have also commented on UNH. Zacks Investment Research upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $219.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 21st. ValuEngine lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Jefferies Group upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, October 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $239.70.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) traded up $4.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $232.90. The stock had a trading volume of 6,852,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,225,820. The company has a market cap of $230,080.00, a PE ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $156.09 and a 12-month high of $235.00.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $52.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.57 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 4.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 EPS. analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 9.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.
In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Gail R. Wilensky sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.31, for a total value of $1,250,536.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 61,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,652,503.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Larry C. Renfro sold 22,598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.75, for a total value of $5,011,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 195,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,310,879.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,630 shares of company stock valued at $7,669,416 in the last quarter. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Chip Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $110,000. Bruderman Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $114,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 433.3% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co. Ltd. now owns 640 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $121,000. Finally, Acrospire Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 130.7% during the second quarter. Acrospire Investment Management LLC now owns 706 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a health and well-being company. The Company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight and OptumRx. It conducts its operations through two business platforms: health benefits operating under UnitedHealthcare and health services operating under Optum.
