UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 1.4% After Analyst Downgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) shares traded down 1.4% on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $400.00 to $385.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $299.80 and last traded at $301.47. 3,015,032 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 7,364,845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $305.62.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on UNH. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.57.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director John H. Noseworthy acquired 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $347.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $459.15. The stock has a market cap of $273.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. 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 2.93%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 37.02%.

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.

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