Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 583,226 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Franklin Resources increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10% in the fourth quarter, buying 583,226 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 6.42 million shares worth about $2.12 billion.
• UnitedHealth reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $7.23 versus the $6.76 estimate and revenue of $111.65 billion, while also guiding FY 2026 EPS at 18.25.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend by 5% to $2.32 per share, and several analysts turned more bullish, including Bank of America upgrading the stock to Buy with a $450 price target.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,419,703 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 583,226 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.71% of UnitedHealth Group worth $2,119,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 144,878 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,903,000 after purchasing an additional 24,588 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 144,561 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,721,000 after purchasing an additional 12,930 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,000. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 899,791 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $297,030,000 after purchasing an additional 76,707 shares during the period. Finally, Landing Point Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Landing Point Financial Group LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owned 17,805 shares in the company, valued at $6,320,775. This represents a 4.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $400.61 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.81 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $348.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $404.15.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $111.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.20 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.250- EPS. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 18.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $9.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.21. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $389.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. HC Wainwright set a $492.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $420.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $370.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $404.42.

Trending Headlines about UnitedHealth Group

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 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report).

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.