Wells Fargo & Company Lowers UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target to $660.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $694.00 to $660.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 21.65% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on UNH. Stephens raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $542.52. 3,161,466 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,791,202. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $499.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's fifty day moving average is $540.11 and its 200 day moving average is $565.06. 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 (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $128,975,000 after acquiring an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $26,060,000 after purchasing an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,611,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.