UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 2.3% – Should You Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) dropped 2.3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $322.83 and last traded at $323.1470. Approximately 4,734,930 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 11,925,017 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.3%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.15 earnings per share. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth $3,837,207,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,846,764,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 126.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,042,049 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,503,419,000 after purchasing an additional 7,293,009 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $1,572,193,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,729,912,000 after buying an additional 4,730,192 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.