UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 211.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,382 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,974 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.7% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% in the first quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,535 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Bensler LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 6,945 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth $11,558,000. Osprey Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 21.9% during the first quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,915 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $200,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $312.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of UNH opened at $318.14 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $391.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $476.22. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $288.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share 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 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

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.