UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 3.9% – What’s Next?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was down 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $477.33 and last traded at $479.26. Approximately 4,438,609 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 4,005,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $498.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $450.25 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $576.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $559.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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 was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.