UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 0.8%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price was down 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $480.71 and last traded at $482.31. Approximately 1,207,368 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 4,499,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $486.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $487.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $514.76. The firm has a market cap of $449.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Bray Capital Advisors increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Bray Capital Advisors now owns 9,616 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,848,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $441,000. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 12,445 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,274,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Bluesphere Advisors LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.9% during the third quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 2,614 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.