UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 1.7% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's stock price dropped 1.7%, trading as low as $343.60, with a significant decrease in trading volume of 38% compared to its average daily volume.
• Analyst price targets for UnitedHealth Group vary widely, with recent adjustments ranging from a reduction by Royal Bank of Canada from $355.00 to $286.00 to an increase by Truist Financial from $310.00 to $365.00.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 2.6%, with a payout ratio of 38.30%.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $343.60 and last traded at $345.84. Approximately 8,072,718 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 12,958,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $351.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $358.95.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $313.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $298.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $362.32.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.80 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Citizens National Bank Trust Department boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $9,368,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $277,641,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% during the first quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,324,000. Finally, Wealth Effects LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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