UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 0% – Time to Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price fell 0% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $500.59 and last traded at $506.10. 1,824,393 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 4,107,071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $506.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNH. Oppenheimer upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $566.91 and a 200-day moving average of $559.65. The company has a market capitalization of $470.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jmac Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.