UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Given New $440.00 Price Target at Sanford C. Bernstein

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price target lifted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $433.00 to $440.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on UNH. Baird R W downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Leerink Partners set a $410.00 price objective on UnitedHealth Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $344.57 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $342.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.10. The company has a market cap of $312.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. UnitedHealth Group has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.14%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $25,000. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 74.0% during the first quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 87 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.