UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Trading Down 5% Following Analyst Downgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s share price traded down 5% during trading on Thursday after Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $355.00 to $286.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $253.68 and last traded at $252.76. 9,186,014 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 11,651,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.04.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on UNH. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $351.00 to $306.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 6.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $418.35. The stock has a market cap of $226.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

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.