UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) dropped 1.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $500.66 and last traded at $503.60. Approximately 1,006,410 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 4,088,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $509.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. HSBC cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $465.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $563.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $560.81.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 600.0% in the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by 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.