UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 1%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares fell 1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $583.24 and last traded at $584.01. 459,172 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 4,036,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $589.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $548.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $569.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $517.54.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,275,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 2,351 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 817 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in 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.