UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

by · The Cerbat Gem

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $605.40, but opened at $552.02. UnitedHealth Group shares last traded at $552.34, with a volume of 2,932,279 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $617.37.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 6.9 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $584.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $532.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $520.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.70%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after acquiring an additional 821,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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