UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $503.34 and last traded at $505.86. Approximately 4,212,467 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 4,107,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $507.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $465.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $563.16 and a 200-day moving average of $560.81.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,371,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,047 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,551,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 26.8% in the second quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,036 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.5% during the second quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,621 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $15,594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.