UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 0.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) were down 0.4% during trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $652.00 to $525.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $424.30 and last traded at $426.23. Approximately 1,650,150 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 5,600,834 shares. The stock had previously closed at $427.96.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $660.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $603.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. West Bancorporation Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. West Bancorporation Inc. now owns 763 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.1% during the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,557 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.2% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,083 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $107,000. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,566 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,868,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $380.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50-day moving average price is $503.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $534.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.18%.

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.