UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 2.3% – Here’s Why

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $423.00 to $417.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $341.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $292.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 46.14%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first 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 period. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.