North Star Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management reduced its UnitedHealth Group stake by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,215 shares and leaving it with 26,250 shares valued at about $8.665 million.
• Despite that sale, UnitedHealth continues to attract major institutional interest: several large hedge funds significantly increased their positions, and 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with UBS raising its price target to $460 and reiterating a Buy rating; the company also beat its latest earnings and revenue estimates, though regulatory concerns around Medicare Advantage overpayments still pose headline risk.

North Star Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,250 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 4,215 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 126.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,042,049 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,503,419,000 after buying an additional 7,293,009 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,766,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,516,107,000 after buying an additional 3,439,182 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,499,949 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $6,042,710,000 after buying an additional 1,747,337 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $528,273,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 152.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,823,871 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $629,783,000 after buying an additional 1,100,850 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently 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: UBS raised its price target on UnitedHealth Group to $460 from $410 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report on UBS target increase
• Positive Sentiment: UnitedHealth was highlighted by multiple outlets as a high-quality stock and a turnaround bet, with commentary noting that managed care is outgrowing the broader economy and that the company is benefiting from AI adoption in operations. Motley Fool article on AI and turnaround
• Neutral Sentiment: UnitedHealth also appeared in a hedge-fund “high quality stocks” list and a Goldman Sachs conviction-list discussion, which supports the stock’s investment case but does not change fundamentals on its own. InsiderMonkey article on turnaround case
• Negative Sentiment: There is still headline risk around Medicare Advantage overpayments, with a Congressional committee estimating about $7 billion annually in excess payments to private insurers, which could keep regulatory scrutiny on managed-care names like UNH. 247WallSt article on Medicare Advantage overpayments
• Negative Sentiment: Recent discussion also noted that Berkshire-linked selling contributed to a prior stock slide, underscoring that investor sentiment can still turn quickly. Barchart article on Berkshire stake sale

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $311.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $387.57.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $388.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $352.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $326.93 and a 200 day moving average of $319.63. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $404.15.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $111.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.84 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 14.65%. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.20 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.250- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 18.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 66.77%.

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.

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