UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 0.8%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares were down 0.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $490.57 and last traded at $491.20. Approximately 422,594 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 4,457,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $495.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $485.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $514.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $450.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction 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 that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, 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 insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,150,045,000 after acquiring an additional 250,291 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,715,790,000 after acquiring an additional 527,526 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,961,369,000 after acquiring an additional 324,733 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after purchasing an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $5,802,231,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.