75,000 Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Purchased by Senator Investment Group LP

Key Points

• Senator Investment Group LP opened a new position in UnitedHealth Group, buying 75,000 shares valued at about $24.8 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains extremely high, with large investors like Vanguard, State Street, and Morgan Stanley also adding to their UNH holdings; overall, institutions and hedge funds own 87.86% of the stock.
• UnitedHealth has seen mixed but generally positive analyst sentiment, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $407.17.

Senator Investment Group LP acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 75,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $24,758,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,600,260 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $30,238,162,000 after acquiring an additional 995,210 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,232,170 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $14,931,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119,834 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,591,042 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,457,723,000 after purchasing an additional 824,120 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,655,111 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $6,158,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,790,095 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $5,212,469,000 after purchasing an additional 553,413 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $420.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $278.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $395.00 to $453.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $407.17.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $284,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 17,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,320,775. This trade represents a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $411.32 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $373.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $364.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $327.51. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $415.98.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.76 by $0.47. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 2.68%.The business had revenue of $111.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.20 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.250- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 18.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $2.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.21. This represents a $9.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 66.77%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.

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