UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, July 22nd. They currently have a $210.00 target price on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, up from their previous target price of $190.00. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.81% from the stock’s current price.
Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank AG initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Vetr raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $179.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $178.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $200.24.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) traded up 0.604% on Friday, hitting $194.165. The stock had a trading volume of 1,851,878 shares. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $132.39 and a one year high of $194.96. The company has a market cap of $191.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.326 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $186.80 and a 200-day moving average of $173.05.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $50.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.97 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 4.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post $9.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
In other news, Director William C. Ballard, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.64, for a total transaction of $913,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 75,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,832,240.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gail R. Wilensky sold 5,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.74, for a total transaction of $990,219.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,816,629.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,724,509 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,499,276,000 after buying an additional 1,122,534 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,658,560,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,530,177,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.4% in the first quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,954,692 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $812,630,000 after buying an additional 254,545 shares during the period. Finally, Harris Associates L P raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 4,646,307 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $762,041,000 after buying an additional 14,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.26% 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.
Receive News & Ratings for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
