Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 46.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 960 shares during the quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $308.69. The company had a trading volume of 6,161,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,543,771. The company's 50-day moving average is $327.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $448.90. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $280.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is a boost 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 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This trade represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.