UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 2% – Here’s Why

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) fell 2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $331.03 and last traded at $334.37. 6,279,908 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 11,788,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on UNH. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $423.00 to $417.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Seventeen equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $385.54.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $302.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $339.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.51. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.14%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,384,000 after buying an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at about $734,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 15.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,776 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,549,000 after buying an additional 906 shares during the period. Finally, Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by 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.