Vantage Investment Partners LLC Sells 3,253 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Vantage Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 308,263 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,253 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 6.8% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $101,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 80 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% in the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 83 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $327.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $385.00 to $405.00 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $387.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $6,320,775. The trade was a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.6%

UNH stock opened at $388.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $326.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $319.63. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $404.15. The stock has a market cap of $352.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.64.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $111.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.250- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 18.29 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 66.77%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.