UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Position Cut by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,552 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,468 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $158,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 214 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,282,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday. Baird R W raised shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $4.09 on Monday, reaching $581.77. The stock had a trading volume of 414,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,204,219. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $591.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $535.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $529.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $507.42.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.