UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 1.7% – Should You Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price was down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $408.35 and last traded at $410.8110. Approximately 4,581,055 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 7,318,698 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $502.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $370.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. New Street Research set a $402.00 price target on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 9th. Mizuho upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $493.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $512.00 target price on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $463.80.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.7%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $388.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $390.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.14 by $0.55. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 17.95% and a net margin of 3.53%. The business had revenue of $112.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 20.500- EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 14th were paid a dividend of $2.32 per share. This represents a $9.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 14th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.00%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Conway sold 1,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $455,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,977,920. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $245,516,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,444,928,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth approximately $2,019,844,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 76,863,061 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,946,594,000 after buying an additional 3,395,530 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth $971,757,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care company that provides health insurance coverage, health care services, pharmacy services and health technology. Its businesses serve individuals, employers, government programs, health care providers and other organizations, primarily in the United States.

The company operates through two principal businesses. UnitedHealthcare offers health benefit plans and related services for employers, individuals, families and government-sponsored programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.