UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Lowered to $555.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $596.00 to $555.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $584.00 to $581.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $569.68.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $478.99 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $489.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $515.38. The firm has a market cap of $441.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 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.