UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 2.3%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price fell 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $570.60 and last traded at $576.07. 1,382,127 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 4,286,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $589.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $514.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $502.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $524.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.59.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.14 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 93 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.