UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 4.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) shares dropped 4.3% on Wednesday after Wolfe Research lowered their price target on the stock from $501.00 to $390.00. Wolfe Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $300.07 and last traded at $307.87. Approximately 22,389,745 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 124% from the average daily volume of 10,006,365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $321.58.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on UNH. Raymond James lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $441.87.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This trade represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The business has a fifty 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $278.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for 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 prior year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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