UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 1.2% - Should You Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $289.13 and last traded at $292.10. 8,072,134 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 22% from the average session volume of 6,609,828 shares. The stock had previously closed at $295.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $435.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $496.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $273.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.