Piper Sandler Boosts UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target to $571.00

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price upped by Piper Sandler from $566.00 to $571.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Erste Group Bank restated a hold rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a reduce rating to a hold rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.6 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $501.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $488.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $515.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $462.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors 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 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value 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 $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,268,753,000 after buying an additional 11,812,017 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $5,802,231,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,682.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,691,542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,372,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,540,538 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 143.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,494,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,679,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,829 shares during the last quarter. 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.