UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 5% on Thursday after Baird R W downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The stock traded as low as $253.68 and last traded at $252.76. Approximately 9,186,014 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 11,651,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.04.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on UNH. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price target (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $373.52.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.9%

The firm has a market cap of $219.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $298.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $418.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

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.