UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Downgraded by Raymond James to Market Perform

Raymond James downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

UNH has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $652.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $486.00.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $16.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $291.24. 70,463,502 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,862,879. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $264.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $474.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $515.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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 net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 35.18%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This trade represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,304,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.