UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 1.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's stock dropped 1.7% following a price target reduction by Morgan Stanley from $342 to $325, although the firm still maintains an overweight rating on the stock.
• Investment analysts are divided on the stock, with 15 labeling it a Buy, 6 a Hold, and 3 a Sell, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $365.38.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, which implies an annualized payout of $8.84 and a yield of 3.0%, with a dividend payout ratio currently at 38.30%.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 1.7% on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $342.00 to $325.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $296.77 and last traded at $299.04. 6,616,114 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 12,787,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $304.24.

UNH has been the topic of several other reports. Baird R W lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $365.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,837,207,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares during the period. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,572,193,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $289.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $393.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $269.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

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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