UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 0.9% - Here's What Happened

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) traded down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $526.56 and last traded at $528.87. 1,636,398 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 3,936,696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $533.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 3.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $584.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $559.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $474.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 21,148 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,409,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 763 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth $371,000. Finally, Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 4,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,429,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.