Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Acquires 2,974 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 211.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,382 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 2,974 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.7% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH traded down $5.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $313.39. 13,729,200 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,185,784. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $391.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $476.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm 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 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. Mizuho decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. HSBC restated a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $426.52.

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.