UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 3.9% - Should You Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $477.33 and last traded at $479.26. Approximately 4,438,609 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 4,005,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $498.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. UBS Group lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.6 %

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $578.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $560.35. The company has a market cap of $446.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. State Street Corp lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after buying an additional 318,039 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,094,247,000 after acquiring an additional 35,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.