UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $463.93.

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $512.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $435.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $402.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $462.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $403.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $361.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $391.12 and its 200 day moving average is $364.76. UnitedHealth Group has a fifty-two week low of $255.96 and a fifty-two week high of $461.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 $112.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 20.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 7th will be issued a dividend of $2.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $9.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Conway sold 1,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total value of $455,910.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,328 shares in the company, valued at $5,977,920. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $512,000. PBCay One RSC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth about $14,343,000. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $6,180,000. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the second quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 38,510 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $16,006,000 after acquiring an additional 4,557 shares during the period. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 135.9% in the second quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 5,495 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group is a diversified health care company that provides health benefits and health services through two main businesses: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. UnitedHealthcare offers health insurance and related benefit plans to individuals, employers and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Optum provides services across the health care system, including care delivery, pharmacy services, pharmacy benefit management, health technology and data analytics. Its businesses serve consumers, health care providers, employers, health plans and government organizations.