UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 2.1% – What’s Next?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) traded down 2.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $308.77 and last traded at $313.7670. 9,140,192 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 12,212,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $198.00 price objective (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $284.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $347.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.23.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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 $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Caitlin John LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the first quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% in the second quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at $1,324,000. Wealth Effects LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Finally, Towercrest Capital Management acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $236,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.