UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 2% – Here’s What Happened

by · The Cerbat Gem

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded down 2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $331.03 and last traded at $334.37. 6,279,908 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 11,788,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $333.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $385.54.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $297.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $337.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 18.8% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,766,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,516,107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,439,182 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the second 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 period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.1% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,499,949 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,042,710,000 after buying an additional 1,747,337 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 126.9% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,042,049 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,503,419,000 after purchasing an additional 7,293,009 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,837,207,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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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