UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Raised to $640.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price target increased by Oppenheimer from $610.00 to $640.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on UNH. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $549.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $587.48 and its 200-day moving average is $558.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $505.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.63 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,060,000 after buying an additional 41,308 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $21,165,000. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,905,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $5,554,000. Finally, Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV now owns 12,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.