UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 0.9% - What's Next?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) was down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $511.93 and last traded at $515.96. Approximately 1,664,982 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 3,976,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $520.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 target price (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 4.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $458.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's fifty day moving average is $580.17 and its 200 day moving average is $560.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.56 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 29.1% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 783,143 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $457,888,000 after purchasing an additional 176,543 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 1,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $986,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 8.4% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $786,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $44,742,000. 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.