Barclays Trims UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Target Price to $603.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $604.00 to $603.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on UNH. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $560.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $608.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $517.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $584.16 and its 200 day moving average is $536.49.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.