UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Given New $390.00 Price Target at Wolfe Research

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from $501.00 to $390.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 21.38% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $451.43.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $5.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $321.31. 23,275,663 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,178,735. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $291.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $467.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $511.49. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.