Wall Street Zen Downgrades UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) to Hold

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

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Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $513.00 to $362.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $441.87.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on UNH

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

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Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $295.37 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $452.40 and a 200-day moving average of $505.07. The company has a market cap of $267.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

• UnitedHealth Insiders Double Down: Is UNH Stock a Value Play?

In related news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after buying an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,914,740,000. 87.86% of the stock is 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.

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