Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,817 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,384,000 after buying an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. CMT Capital Markets Trading GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $340,000. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth $356,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $377,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting 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

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $440.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $397.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $456.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Patrick Conway sold 1,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 15,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,977,920. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $393.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $352.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $410.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $366.95. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $255.96 and a 1-year high of $461.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $1.44. The company had revenue of $112.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.81 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.08 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 19.82 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th will be issued a $2.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 14th. This represents a $9.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.72%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.