Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Sells 1,120 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Securities LLC has reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by **44.2%**, selling **1,120 shares** to hold a total of **1,416 shares** valued at approximately **$736,000**.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in UnitedHealth Group, with Brighton Jones LLC boosting its holdings by **176.2%** to **44,249 shares** valued at **$22.38 million**.
• UnitedHealth Group reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting an **EPS of $4.08**, missing the analyst consensus of **$4.45**, and is currently guiding for an EPS of **$16.00** for FY 2025.

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 44.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,416 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,120 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $736,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,467,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,679,266 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,367,991,000 after buying an additional 100,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $342.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $353.00.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE:UNH opened at $309.77 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $288.16 and its 200-day moving average is $379.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $280.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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.

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