UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $607.00 to $546.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $444.63 and last traded at $445.70, with a volume of 1333438 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $450.05.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $596.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $584.00 to $581.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $576.48.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,150,045,000 after buying an additional 250,291 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,715,790,000 after purchasing an additional 527,526 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,635,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,289,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,192 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,961,369,000 after purchasing an additional 324,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after purchasing an additional 542,424 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $493.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $516.67. The company has a market cap of $407.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by $0.18. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The business had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.75 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.54%.

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.