UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 1.4% – Time to Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price traded down 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $304.53 and last traded at $309.1920. 8,075,349 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 12,194,134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $313.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $198.00 target price (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.4%

The stock has a market cap of $280.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. 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 50-day simple moving average of $346.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $317.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The business had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its position in 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 purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors 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.