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

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,464 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Advisory Corp MA acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $218,000. DeDora Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 9,020 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,274,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $1,551,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.8% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 4,458 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.8% during the third quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,666 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $38,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Stephens dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $632.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $615.58.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $1.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $569.95. 838,795 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,945,981. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $584.55 and a 200-day moving average of $535.49. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.