UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 0.9% – Time to Sell?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $459.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $578.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $560.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.