UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Earns “Underperform” Rating from Robert W. Baird

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $198.00 target price on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, down from their prior target price of $312.00. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 16.60% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $351.00 to $306.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 19th. Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $237.40 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $296.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $416.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 2,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Mendel Money Management raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 58.3% during the second quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 5,105 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after buying an additional 1,881 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,580 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $1,186,000. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 124,876 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $38,958,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. 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.