Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB nearly doubled its UnitedHealth Group stake in the second quarter, acquiring 339,020 additional shares to hold 687,561 shares valued at approximately $285.8 million.
• UnitedHealth reported quarterly EPS of $6.38, beating estimates of $4.94, while revenue reached $112.03 billion. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $2.32, equal to a 2.3% annualized yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with UnitedHealth carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $455.92; institutional investors own 87.86% of the stock.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 97.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 687,561 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 339,020 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.8% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.08% of UnitedHealth Group worth $285,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,600,260 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $30,238,162,000 after purchasing an additional 995,210 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,232,170 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $14,931,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119,834 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,591,042 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,457,723,000 after buying an additional 824,120 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,829,054 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $6,215,660,000 after buying an additional 680,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,655,111 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $6,158,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155,162 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $408.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $371.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day moving average is $414.66 and its 200 day moving average is $351.47. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $252.14 and a 52 week high of $461.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $112.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.81 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The company's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.08 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 19.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $2.32 dividend. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.21. This represents a $9.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded UnitedHealth Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $287.00 to $453.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $440.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $466.00 to $516.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $470.00 to $493.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $455.92.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $205,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 16,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,763,770. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group 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.

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