UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 3.3% – Here’s What Happened

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price dropped 3.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $320.49 and last traded at $321.4350. Approximately 8,604,019 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 12,252,341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $333.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Baird R W downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $335.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.12.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $291.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $347.53 and a 200 day moving average of $320.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.15 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 83 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors 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.