UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 1.3% After Analyst Downgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price was down 1.3% on Tuesday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $640.00 to $510.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $414.32 and last traded at $414.33. Approximately 1,920,429 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 4,481,536 shares. The stock had previously closed at $420.00.

UNH has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $540.00 target price (down from $635.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, April 21st. Erste Group Bank upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.86.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.6 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $498.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $531.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $374.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

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.