UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Given New $600.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price decreased by analysts at Piper Sandler from $605.00 to $600.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target suggests a potential upside of 18.61% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on UNH. Bank of America lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $628.37.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock opened at $505.86 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $561.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $560.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.96, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,440,133,000 after purchasing an additional 318,039 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after buying an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.