Brokerages Set UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Target Price at $397.12

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $397.12.

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $198.00 target price (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $333.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $329.78 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $622.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $343.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $298.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.14%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Caitlin John LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth approximately $1,324,000. Wealth Effects LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. Finally, Towercrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $236,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.