UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 0.8%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) fell 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $480.71 and last traded at $482.31. 1,207,368 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 4,499,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $486.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $486.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $514.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $454.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,919,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during 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.