UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Cut to Hold at Baird R W

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Baird R W from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $318.14 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $288.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $391.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $476.22. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $248.88 and a 52-week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.