UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 1.4% - Time to Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) shares dropped 1.4% on Monday . The company traded as low as $295.52 and last traded at $297.66. Approximately 3,965,130 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 7,335,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $302.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp lowered 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. One 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $427.09.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.4%

The firm has a market cap of $272.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company's 50 day moving average price is $359.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.96.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.