UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 3.9% – Here’s What Happened

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares dropped 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $477.33 and last traded at $479.26. Approximately 4,438,609 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 4,005,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $498.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 target price (down previously from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $443.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $580.17 and a 200 day moving average of $560.42.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 29.1% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 783,143 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $457,888,000 after acquiring an additional 176,543 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 1,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $986,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew 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 valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $786,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,742,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

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.