Prospera Financial Services Inc Buys 5,959 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Prospera Financial Services increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 5,959 more shares and bringing its total holding to 47,776 shares valued at about $15.8 million.
• Several other hedge funds also boosted or initiated positions in UNH, and institutional investors now own 87.86% of the company, underscoring continued institutional interest in the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: UBS raised its price target to $460 and kept a Buy rating, while UnitedHealth also posted a quarterly earnings beat and continues to pay a $2.21 quarterly dividend.

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,776 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 5,959 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $15,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,785,000. Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $241,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 526.3% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 88,053 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,067,000 after purchasing an additional 73,993 shares during the period. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,120 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,661,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 65,256 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $21,542,000 after purchasing an additional 12,034 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $388.42 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $404.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $326.93 and a 200-day moving average of $319.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $352.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.64.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 800 shares of the firm's 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 owned 17,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,320,775. This trade represents a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $410.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $361.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.57.

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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