UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 0.9% – What’s Next?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares dropped 0.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $511.93 and last traded at $515.96. Approximately 1,664,982 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 3,976,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $520.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on 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 lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 4.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $581.88 and a 200-day moving average of $560.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $458.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during 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%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNH. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 783,143 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $457,888,000 after buying an additional 176,543 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 1,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $786,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,742,000. 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.