Fiera Capital Corp Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 76,707 shares and bringing its total holding to 899,791 shares worth about $297 million.
• Several major brokerages turned more bullish on UNH, with Bank of America upgrading the stock to Buy and raising its price target to $450, while Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $453 and maintained an Overweight rating.
• UnitedHealth reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $7.23 EPS and $111.65 billion in revenue, and also raised its quarterly dividend 5% to $2.32 per share.

Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 899,791 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 76,707 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.10% of UnitedHealth Group worth $297,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 80 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 83 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America upgraded UnitedHealth Group to Buy and raised its price target to $450, citing improving medical cost trends and a better risk/reward setup heading into earnings. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also lifted its price target on UNH to $453 and kept an Overweight rating, reinforcing the view that sentiment is improving. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: UnitedHealth raised its quarterly dividend by 5% to $2.32 per share, extending its long streak of annual dividend increases and signaling financial strength. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Healthcare stocks, including UnitedHealth, are benefiting from a broader sector rebound as investors seek defensive stability and rotate out of more volatile areas of the market. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage notes that UNH has already recovered sharply year to date, outpacing the broader market and its industry peer group. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles continue to highlight ongoing concerns around rising medical costs, managed-care scrutiny, and the stock’s earlier challenges, which could limit upside if operating trends worsen. Article link

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:UNH opened at $400.61 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $404.15. The firm has a market cap of $363.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.76 by $0.47. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The firm had revenue of $111.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.250- EPS. Analysts predict 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 paid a $2.32 dividend. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $278.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $370.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $404.42.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 800 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $284,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 17,805 shares in the company, valued at $6,320,775. The trade was a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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.