UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Holdings Boosted by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its UnitedHealth stake by 1.2% in the second quarter, owning 1.97 million shares valued at approximately $819 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 87.86% of UNH shares.
• UnitedHealth reported quarterly EPS of $6.38, beating the $4.94 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $112.03 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $456.56.
• The company is investing nearly $1.5 billion in artificial intelligence, but investors remain concerned about high medical costs, commercial-insurance margin pressure and the sustainability of Optum’s turnaround.

National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,970,332 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 23,027 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.22% of UnitedHealth Group worth $818,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 41,749.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 567,446,754 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $235,847,894,000 after buying an additional 566,090,823 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,376,167,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $245,516,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,444,928,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,019,844,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about UnitedHealth Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: UnitedHealth is investing nearly $1.5 billion in artificial intelligence to expand Optum Insight’s software capabilities, improve operating efficiency and create new growth opportunities. Can UnitedHealth's AI Strategy Strengthen Optum Insight's Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer characterized UnitedHealth’s latest quarter as very strong and argued that the company continues to have profitable growth and a strong competitive position. Analysts tracked by Quiver Quantitative also have a median price target of $434.50, above the recent trading level. Jim Cramer Discusses UnitedHealth’s Profitable Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: UnitedHealth’s partial sale of its Florida WellMed primary-care clinic network to TPG brings in strategic capital while allowing UNH to retain an equity interest. Management was also expected to reaffirm its full-year earnings guidance, but investors are looking for evidence that the Optum turnaround is sustainable. UnitedHealth Sells WellMed to TPG
• Negative Sentiment: The TPG transaction raised concerns because the Florida WellMed operations have been associated with Optum Health’s recent profit problems. Investors questioned whether the deal signals a weaker outlook for the assets or reflects a need for outside capital during the turnaround. UnitedHealth Slips as TPG Buys Into Florida WellMed Clinics
• Negative Sentiment: Comments from CVS Health about continued high medical-cost growth pressured managed-care stocks, including UNH. UnitedHealth also continues to face commercial-insurance margin pressure, while parts of the Optum recovery remain incomplete. CVS Still Sees High-Trend Cost Growth
• Negative Sentiment: UnitedHealth trades at a substantial valuation premium to some managed-care peers despite having slower revenue growth, increasing sensitivity to disappointing guidance or execution. Broader healthcare-sector weakness added to the selling pressure. Why Is UNH Stock Trading at a Premium?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright set a $492.00 target price on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $466.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $456.56.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $393.11 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $255.96 and a 52-week high of $461.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business's 50-day moving average price is $410.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $366.95. The firm has a market cap of $352.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $1.44. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The company had revenue of $112.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.08 EPS. The business's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 19.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $9.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.72%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Conway sold 1,169 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $455,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,328 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,977,920. This represents a 7.09% 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. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a diversified health care and well-being company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Its operations are organized primarily through two businesses: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health benefit plans and services, and Optum, which delivers health care services, technology, pharmacy care and data-driven solutions.

UnitedHealthcare serves individuals, employers, government programs and other organizations through products that include employer-sponsored health plans, individual and family coverage, Medicare and Medicaid plans, dental and vision benefits, and related administrative services.

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