UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 1%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) dropped 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $583.24 and last traded at $584.01. Approximately 459,172 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 4,036,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $589.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Baird R W upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.0 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $569.08 and a 200 day moving average of $517.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $548.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.14 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,139,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 2,351 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 817 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.