Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 4,939 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,613 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,939 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $76,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 995,210 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 18.8% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,766,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,516,107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,439,182 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.1% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,499,949 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,042,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747,337 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,376,167,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 126.9% in the third 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 period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Leerink Partners increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $361.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $444.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $340.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $492.00 target price on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $404.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $284,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 17,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,320,775. This trade represents a 4.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America upgraded UnitedHealth to Buy from Neutral and lifted its price target to $450, citing improving medical cost trends and a better risk/reward setup ahead of earnings. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also raised its price target on UNH to $453 and kept an Overweight rating, reinforcing the view that the stock has room to recover. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UnitedHealth raised its quarterly dividend by 5% to $2.32 per share, marking its 16th consecutive year of dividend increases and signaling confidence in cash flow despite a tough insurance backdrop. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple market reports noted that analysts are increasingly optimistic on managed-care names, pointing to softer medical cost and utilization trends that could support earnings recovery for UNH. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also provided updates on its annual shareholder meeting and board actions, with shareholders re-electing directors and approving executive compensation; these items are routine and do not appear to be the main driver of trading. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market headlines show weakness in tech stocks and mixed futures, but these macro moves appear to be secondary to the strong company-specific buying in UNH today. Article Title

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 5.4%

NYSE UNH opened at $397.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $360.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.64. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $345.52 and its 200-day moving average is $323.05. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $404.15.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.21. This represents a $9.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.