Brookstone Capital Management Reduces Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Brookstone Capital Management trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 49.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:UNH traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $308.69. The company had a trading volume of 6,161,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,560,015. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $280.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $324.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $447.32. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on UNH. Argus downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wolfe Research dropped 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 note on Tuesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $415.57.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.