UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 0.7%

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s stock price dropped 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $580.73 and last traded at $584.75. Approximately 557,673 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 4,015,560 shares. The stock had previously closed at $589.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $531.03 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74, 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $571.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $518.38.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 105.8% during the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 8.4% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 875 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,165,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $61,519,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth approximately $2,898,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.