UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Erste Group Bank

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was downgraded by investment analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $468.00 to $529.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $460.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $397.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $456.56.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE UNH traded down $4.73 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $396.28. 804,047 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,749,665. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $255.96 and a one year high of $461.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $413.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $359.04. The company has a market capitalization of $355.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $112.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.81 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.08 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 19.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 1,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $455,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,977,920. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PBCay One RSC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at $14,343,000. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $6,180,000. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 150,773 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $49,772,000 after buying an additional 3,934 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,287.2% in the 1st quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 60,022 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $16,241,000 after acquiring an additional 55,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the second quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 38,510 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $16,006,000 after purchasing an additional 4,557 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.