UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 1.4% - Here's What Happened

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) dropped 1.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $292.50 and last traded at $298.76. Approximately 13,062,102 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the average daily volume of 10,286,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $302.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $460.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $508.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, 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. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after buying an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,914,740,000. 87.86% of the stock is 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.

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