UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 1.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's share price decreased by 1.1%, trading between $303.70 and $305.25 with a trading volume that was 73% lower than its average.
• Equity analysts have revised their target prices for UNH, with multiples downgrades reported, such as Truist Financial lowering it from $360.00 to $345.00, while UBS reaffirmed a "buy" rating.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21 to be paid on September 23rd, 2023, representing an annual yield of 2.9%.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $303.70 and last traded at $305.25. Approximately 3,437,811 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 12,762,710 shares. The stock had previously closed at $308.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Truist Financial cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $353.00.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $288.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $377.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 38.30%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth $3,837,207,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first 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 last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $1,572,193,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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