Brokerages Set UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Price Target at $615.53

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $615.53.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 target price (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,440,133,000 after acquiring an additional 318,039 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $88,000. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $2,254,000. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 55,287 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,325,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $128,975,000 after acquiring an additional 26,074 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $592.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $545.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $582.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $549.06. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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.