UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 3.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) dropped 3.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $477.33 and last traded at $479.26. 4,438,609 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 4,005,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $498.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stephens upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 3.3 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $580.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $560.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $443.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Delta Financial Group Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Saxony Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.