Brookstone Capital Management Trims Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Brookstone Capital Management cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 49.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,291 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 13,153 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,033,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $133,373,000 after purchasing an additional 9,872 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $5.16 on Monday, hitting $303.39. The stock had a trading volume of 6,871,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,558,731. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $324.99 and a 200 day moving average of $447.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group 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.