UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 9,403,957 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 88% from the previous session's volume of 4,992,832 shares.The stock last traded at $318.89 and had previously closed at $311.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $490.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $513.00 to $362.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.38.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.6%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $474.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $515.82. The stock has a market cap of $252.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $13,537,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,839 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $6,375,744,000. 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.