UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,683 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 0.8% of Argent Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,139,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 102.8% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 14,774 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,778,000 after purchasing an additional 7,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $240,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $577.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $572.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $519.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $531.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.32, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $607.94.

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 net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

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.