UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 1.6% - Time to Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) shares traded down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $302.68 and last traded at $303.71. 3,228,420 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 7,544,176 shares. The stock had previously closed at $308.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. 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 report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.00.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $271.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $318.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $443.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.