UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Lowered to $563.00 at Morgan Stanley

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $664.00 to $563.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $540.00 price target (down from $635.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $490.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $608.00.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of UNH opened at $427.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $390.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $508.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $537.99. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $417.12 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,089 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Pursue Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. TrueMark Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 12,948 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,688 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,764,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pennsylvania Capital Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Pennsylvania Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 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.