UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 0.3% - Time to Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $516.80 and last traded at $521.37. 644,800 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 4,258,878 shares. The stock had previously closed at $523.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $629.32.

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UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $488.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company's 50-day moving average is $509.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $542.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wallace Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,239,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,304,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 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.