UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 1.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) were down 1.8% on Friday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $391.00 to $327.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $284.70 and last traded at $287.0310. Approximately 11,973,914 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 11,626,244 shares. The stock had previously closed at $292.29.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $410.00 to $345.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $415.00 to $385.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.75.

Key Headlines Impacting UnitedHealth Group

Here are the key news stories impacting UnitedHealth Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Potential upside from negotiations with the Trump administration — Benzinga notes UnitedHealth is negotiating for favorable Medicare rates, which, if successful, would reduce reimbursement risk and support margins. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and some cost outlook improvement — coverage notes UNH beat Q4 EPS expectations (small margin), and a few outlets reported the stock initially rose on that news and a better 2026 cost outlook. This helps explain pockets of buying despite broader weakness. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts trim price targets but largely keep positive ratings — Barclays cut its PT to $327 (still Overweight), Wells Fargo lowered to $370 (Overweight), Jefferies trimmed to $340 (Buy) and Morgan Stanley made a modest cut to $409 but retained Overweight. Those downgrades weigh on sentiment but keep institutional support. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary framing 2026 as a transitional year — recent analysis (Seeking Alpha) frames UNH as facing temporary FY2026 pain but with opportunity longer term as margins recover and AI-driven efficiencies are pursued. That keeps debate active between short-term caution and longer-term recovery. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Administration proposal for smaller Medicare reimbursements has roiled the stock — proposals for lower private Medicare Advantage reimbursements triggered a sharp sell-off and remain a key policy risk that compresses near-term revenue/margin expectations. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual bearish options activity — traders bought a very large volume of put options (hundreds of thousands), suggesting elevated hedging or directional bearish bets and adding to intraday volatility and downward pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed Q4 details and cautious guidance/transition-year messaging — revenue slightly missed, management signaled 2026 is transitional and guidance/assumptions sparked fresh downside revisions and “buy-the-dip” skepticism in some research pieces. Read More.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 83 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $331.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $323.38.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.02. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The business had revenue of $113.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.02%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company’s benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.