SVB Leerink Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) – Research analysts at SVB Leerink boosted their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note issued on Tuesday, May 23rd. SVB Leerink analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $32.64 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $32.60. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $24.98 per share. SVB Leerink also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s FY2026 earnings at $37.36 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $630.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, April 14th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $591.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $562.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $600.19.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $477.70 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $449.70 and a 52-week high of $558.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $444.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $489.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.78.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $91.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.77 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 27.05%. The business’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.49 EPS.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 10th. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.18%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.58, for a total transaction of $488,456.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,019,764.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 6,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.49, for a total transaction of $3,002,938.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,199,084.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.58, for a total transaction of $488,456.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,019,764.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,852 shares of company stock worth $4,313,962 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. 25 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Kalos Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 86.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About UnitedHealth Group

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UnitedHealth Group, Inc engages in the provision of health care coverage, software, and data consultancy services. It operates through the following segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight, and OptumRx. The UnitedHealthcare segment utilizes Optum’s capabilities to help coordinate patient care, improve affordability of medical care, analyze cost trends, manage pharmacy benefits, work with care providers more effectively, and create a simpler consumer experience.