KeyCorp Upgrades UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) to Strong-Buy

by · The Markets Daily

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at KeyCorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $617.37.

Read Our Latest Research Report on UNH

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock opened at $597.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $583.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $530.81. UnitedHealth Group has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $607.94. The firm has a market cap of $550.27 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Capital Insight Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,475,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Collective Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $282,469,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

(Get Free Report)

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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