UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $543.42, but opened at $530.35. UnitedHealth Group shares last traded at $529.92, with a volume of 1,290,737 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 4.2 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $554.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $563.12. The firm has a market cap of $479.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Jmac Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Private Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the second quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.