UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Stake Lowered by Goelzer Investment Management Inc.

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,248 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,440 shares during the quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 76,863,061 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,946,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395,530 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,633,267 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $18,966,555,000 after purchasing an additional 301,081 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,713,684 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,169,606,000 after buying an additional 2,097,859 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,704,994 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,449,317,000 after purchasing an additional 616,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,675,175 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,436,923,000 after buying an additional 583,536 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday. Stephens set a $500.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday. UBS Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $512.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $462.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Conway sold 1,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $455,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 15,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,977,920. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Key UnitedHealth Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results and guidance exceeded expectations. UnitedHealth reported adjusted earnings of $4.69 per share versus the $4.14 consensus estimate, while revenue of $112.7 billion also topped forecasts. Management raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to at least $20.50, supporting the recovery narrative. UnitedHealth Stock Moves Higher: What’s Going On?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains significant. JPMorgan raised its price target to $524 and maintained an “overweight” rating, while Goldman Sachs reportedly lifted its target to $506 after concluding that Medicare Advantage margin recovery is progressing faster than expected. JPMorgan Raises UnitedHealth Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Potential growth areas could support 2027 and beyond. UnitedHealth’s focus on Medicare special-needs plans, expanded coverage and care-delivery operations may provide targeted growth while improving margins. Its low beta also makes UNH attractive as a defensive healthcare holding during inflation and market rotation away from technology stocks. Can UNH’s Focus on Special Needs Plans Strengthen Medicare Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent gains may have already priced in much of the good news. Commentary noted that the earnings beat and outlook increase were followed by questions about how durable the recovery will be, limiting the immediate upside despite bullish targets. UnitedHealth Beats on Earnings, But Investors Question Growth Path
• Negative Sentiment: Membership fell and medical costs remain high. Analysts are concerned that shrinking membership and elevated utilization could constrain revenue growth and margins, particularly if higher care costs persist. This is the main reason investors are questioning whether the earnings improvement can continue. UnitedHealth’s Q3 Margins Improve, But Membership Falls
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed. Barclays issued a pessimistic forecast, Robert W. Baird cut its price target, and TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating with a $402 target, signaling limited near-term upside for some investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.2%

UNH stock opened at $401.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $360.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $255.96 and a twelve month high of $461.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $387.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $384.64.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.14 by $0.55. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 17.95%. The company had revenue of $112.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 20.500- EPS. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 20.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, September 14th were given a dividend of $2.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 14th. This represents a $9.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care and well-being company serving individuals, employers, health care providers and government programs. Its operations are organized primarily through UnitedHealthcare and Optum.

UnitedHealthcare provides health benefit plans and services, including employer-sponsored coverage, individual and family plans, Medicare and Medicaid offerings, and other government-supported programs. Its services include health insurance administration, pharmacy benefits and care management.

Optum provides health care services, technology and data solutions, pharmacy services, and analytics to health plans, employers, government agencies, health care providers and consumers.