Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $600.00 to $650.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Mizuho's price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.50% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $632.85.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $4.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $599.10. 6,117,814 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,351,444. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $548.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.65, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $512.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $542.03.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.