UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 1.3% - Time to Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) traded down 1.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $500.66 and last traded at $503.60. 1,006,410 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 4,088,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $509.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $565.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $560.67. The firm has a market cap of $467.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $458,929,000 after acquiring an additional 776,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,380,661,000 after purchasing an additional 587,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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.