UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 2.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) dropped 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday 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 $412.02 and last traded at $414.86. Approximately 2,901,599 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 4,450,463 shares. The stock had previously closed at $424.25.

UNH has been the subject of several other reports. HSBC restated a "hold" rating and set a $490.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $603.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,039,933,000 after buying an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.2% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 635 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,275 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $900,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $503.28 and a 200-day moving average of $534.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion during 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.