UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) dropped 0.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $510.02 and last traded at $510.14. Approximately 471,947 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 4,280,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $512.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $470.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock's 50 day moving average is $482.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $511.60.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.26 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $8,919,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $17,292,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by 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.

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