UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 1.5% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• UnitedHealth Group's stock fell 1.5%, trading at $355.73, with a significant decline in trading volume at 54% less than its average.
• Analysts have varying outlooks, with Truist raising the price target to $365.00 while Royal Bank of Canada cut it to $286.00, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold".
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss with $4.08 EPS, below estimates, and announced a dividend of $2.21, indicating a 2.5% yield.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $354.40 and last traded at $355.73. Approximately 5,798,400 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 12,592,215 shares. The stock had previously closed at $361.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $406.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price 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. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $384.09.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $325.04 and a 200 day moving average of $347.17. 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 capitalization of $322.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the 1st 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. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $13,537,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,312,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $6,624,411,000 after purchasing an additional 675,075 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,837,207,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,729,912,000 after purchasing an additional 4,730,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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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