UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 0% – Here’s Why

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) fell 0% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $500.59 and last traded at $506.10. 1,824,393 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 4,107,071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $506.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $569.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $560.37. The company has a market cap of $465.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third 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 bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the second 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. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 600.0% during the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 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.