MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC Has $2.20 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 2.0% of MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $307.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $320.63 and a 200 day moving average of $444.69. The company has a market capitalization of $278.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. 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 is presently 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNH. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Argus lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.