UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

UNH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $575.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $607.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $529.76 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $578.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $522.51.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,139,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares during the period. Boston Family Office LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 3,863 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,034,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 26,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,819,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.