Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $355.00 to $286.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the healthcare conglomerate's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.84% from the stock's previous close.

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Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on UNH. Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Mizuho reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $378.95.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on UNH

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.3%

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Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $260.38. The company had a trading volume of 7,638,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,566,953. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm's 50 day moving average is $299.69 and its 200-day moving average is $421.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.16 by ($1.08). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.80 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 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, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders acquired a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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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