UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 1.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) dropped 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $304.53 and last traded at $309.1920. Approximately 8,075,349 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 12,194,134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $313.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.4%

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 $280.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $346.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.14%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% in the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 83 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 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.