UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $640.00 to $510.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $409.10 and last traded at $409.23, with a volume of 9889233 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $420.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $596.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $362.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $497.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $529.82.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

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.