UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price was down 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $500.59 and last traded at $504.60. Approximately 680,809 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,102,132 shares. The stock had previously closed at $506.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $570.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $560.26. The stock has a market cap of $465.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 600.0% during the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.