UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Stake Boosted by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 21.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 139,558 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,274 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $58,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,376,167,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $245,516,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,444,928,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,019,844,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,395,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler set a $477.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $429.00 to $441.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $460.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $456.56.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.3%

UNH opened at $393.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $353.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $413.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $360.11. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $255.96 and a 1-year high of $461.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $1.44. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 3.14%.The business had revenue of $112.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 19.82 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, September 14th will be paid a $2.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $9.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 1,169 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total value of $455,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,328 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.