UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's stock hit a new 52-week low of $247.75, closing at $249.43, indicating significant recent volatility and declines.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss with $4.08 EPS, falling short of the consensus estimate of $4.45, alongside a revenue of $111.62 billion.
• Despite recent challenges, UnitedHealth Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $2.21 per share, up from $2.10, reflecting continued support for shareholders.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $247.75 and last traded at $249.43, with a volume of 29417983 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $266.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $198.00 price target (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 4.9%

The stock has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $296.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $416.24.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $133,373,000 after buying an additional 9,872 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $11,141,000. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $279,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.