UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 1.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price dropped 1.2% during trading on Thursday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $607.00 to $546.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $444.63 and last traded at $444.86. Approximately 1,423,439 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 4,199,276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $450.05.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $551.00 target price for the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $576.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $207,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Bartlett & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 164,353 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $82,865,000 after acquiring an additional 8,873 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $492.29 and a 200-day moving average of $516.18. The firm has a market cap of $404.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $94.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.75 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.54%.

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.