Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price objective trimmed by Robert W. Baird from $510.00 to $356.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on UNH. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $652.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $523.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE UNH opened at $308.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $478.83 and a 200-day moving average of $517.83. 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 $284.25 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $279.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is 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.