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

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.16.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $584.21 and a 200-day moving average of $532.84. The company has a market cap of $527.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.68 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Collective Family Office LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth approximately $282,469,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

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.