Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its target price decreased by Piper Sandler from $552.00 to $353.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 target price (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.43.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $301.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $273.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $422.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $489.42. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 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.