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

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Wolfe Research lowered their price target on the stock from $501.00 to $390.00. The stock had previously closed at $321.58, but opened at $301.00. Wolfe Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group shares last traded at $306.79, with a volume of 12,641,136 shares trading hands.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $575.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen downgraded 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $441.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $277.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $464.33 and a 200-day moving average of $510.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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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