Fayez Sarofim & Co Increases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 40.7% in Q3, buying 454,529 shares to hold 1,570,342 shares (about 0.17% of UNH) valued at roughly $547.78 million, making UNH the firm's 25th largest holding and ~1.3% of its portfolio.
• UnitedHealth beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.11 vs. $2.09) with revenue of $113.73B (up 12.3% YoY), declared a $2.21 quarterly dividend (annualized $8.84, yield 3.1%, ex-dividend Mar 9), and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" analyst rating with an average price target of $372.13.

Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,570,342 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 454,529 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.3% of Fayez Sarofim & Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned about 0.17% of UnitedHealth Group worth $547,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,402,000. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the third quarter. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Destination Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,018,000. Finally, CLG LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. CLG LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Sen. Markwayne Mullin disclosed a purchase of $50k–$100k in UNH shares, a small institutional/insider-like buy that can be read as a signal of confidence and may attract retail/institutional attention. Trump Ally, New DHS Leader Nominee Markwayne Mullin Makes New Stock Trades: Here's What He Bought And Sold
• Positive Sentiment: Short-term price resilience: coverage noted UNH advancing while broader markets declined recently, a sign of relative strength that can draw momentum buyers. UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: High investor attention: Zacks and Yahoo pieces highlight UNH as a heavily searched/watched stock; increased attention can boost liquidity and volatility but is not a directional catalyst by itself. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials: a Barclays healthcare conference transcript was published; investors will parse management commentary for membership trends, margin drivers, and capital allocation but no surprise datapoint was flagged in headlines. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) Presents at Barclays 28th Annual Global Healthcare Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage and model updates continue to circulate (stock-forecast pieces), which keep expectations and target-price dispersion visible to the market but provide mixed near-term directional pressure. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) Stock Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/sector pressure concerns: commentary noting a ~39% 12‑month share decline and questioning whether current price reflects value could pressure sentiment and keep selling pressure if investors worry about sector headwinds or earnings risk. Is UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Pricing Reflect Sector Pressures After A 39% Share Price Decline

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $282.02 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $303.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $325.26. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $606.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $113.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.38 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 2.69%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.81 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $410.00 to $345.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $391.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore raised UnitedHealth Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $410.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $372.13.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.