UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 2.7% - Here's What Happened

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) dropped 2.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $583.08 and last traded at $583.28. Approximately 1,257,878 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 4,333,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $599.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Barclays decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $632.85.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $417.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. 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 50 day moving average price of $514.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $541.53.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 period. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $128,975,000 after acquiring an additional 26,074 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.2% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 635 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,275 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.