UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 2.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's stock fell by 2.5%, trading as low as $240.30, with a total of approximately 11.3 million shares changing hands on Friday.
• Analysts have recently downgraded UnitedHealth Group's price targets, with Wells Fargo reducing their target from $351 to $306, while three analysts rated the stock as a sell.
• The company reported earnings of $4.08 per share in its last quarterly earnings, missing the consensus estimate and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.9%.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $240.30 and last traded at $243.28. Approximately 11,300,024 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 11,789,973 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $351.00 to $306.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, May 19th. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 4.9%

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $298.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $418.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $215.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 3,642 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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