UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Down 1.9% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) dropped 1.9% on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $418.00 to $310.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $239.50 and last traded at $241.23. Approximately 4,999,267 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 12,066,206 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.78.

UNH has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price 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. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $366.52.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $292.78 and its 200 day moving average is $408.71. The company has a market capitalization of $221.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. 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. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 38.30%.

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.