UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

UNH has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $604.00 to $603.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.1 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $600.50 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $582.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $551.60. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $552.63 billion, a PE ratio of 39.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 20.6% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth about $75,000. Rodgers Brothers Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 842 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Capital LP lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 56,015 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $27,711,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.