UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 1.3% – Time to Sell?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price traded down 1.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $500.66 and last traded at $503.60. 1,006,410 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 4,088,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $509.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $466.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $565.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $560.67.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 3,626 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 29.1% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 783,143 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $457,888,000 after acquiring an additional 176,543 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 1,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $986,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in 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.