UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 1%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) dropped 1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $493.73 and last traded at $496.27. Approximately 1,260,079 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 4,508,290 shares. The stock had previously closed at $501.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $487.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $514.76. The company has a market cap of $448.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, 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 transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,150,045,000 after purchasing an additional 250,291 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,715,790,000 after purchasing an additional 527,526 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,961,369,000 after buying an additional 324,733 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,244,158,000 after purchasing an additional 542,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,802,231,000. 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.