Archer Investment Corp Has $1.50 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,866 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after buying an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.43.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded down $3.87 on Friday, hitting $284.20. 3,052,108 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,756,096. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $306.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $434.93.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.