UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Receives $627.74 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $627.74.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $2.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $532.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,670,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,112,904. The company's 50 day moving average is $541.04 and its 200-day moving average is $564.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $489.83 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.