UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Rating Lowered by Raymond James

Raymond James downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $652.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $523.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $308.35 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $478.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $517.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $284.25 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.9% during the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $218,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 443,840 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $232,461,000 after purchasing an additional 40,759 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,552,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 61,442 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,180,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is 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.