UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 0% – Here’s Why

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price was down 0% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $514.46 and last traded at $518.19. Approximately 530,279 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 4,071,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $518.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

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 $471.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.26, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $508.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $544.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.