UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as “Hold” by TD Cowen

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at TD Cowen in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $402.00 price objective on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective points to a potential downside of 1.85% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on UNH. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $370.00 to $467.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $461.48.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $13.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $409.56. The company had a trading volume of 7,555,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,378,311. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $367.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $387.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $383.47. UnitedHealth Group has a one year low of $255.96 and a one year high of $461.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.14 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $112.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.31 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 17.95%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 20.500- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group will post 20.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Conway sold 1,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $455,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,328 shares in the company, valued at $5,977,920. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 76,863,061 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,946,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395,530 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,633,267 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,966,555,000 after purchasing an additional 301,081 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,713,684 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,169,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,097,859 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,704,994 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,449,317,000 after purchasing an additional 616,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,675,175 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,436,923,000 after purchasing an additional 583,536 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about UnitedHealth Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings beat and raised outlook: UnitedHealth reported $112.7 billion in revenue and adjusted earnings of $4.69 per share, exceeding consensus estimates. Management raised its 2026 adjusted earnings outlook to at least $20.50 per share from a prior $19.50-$20.00 range. UnitedHealth Stock Moves Higher: What’s Going On?
• Positive Sentiment: Improving medical-cost trends: The medical care ratio improved to 88.4%, while Optum generated $66.9 billion in revenue and $3.7 billion in earnings. Investors viewed better cost management, pricing discipline and benefit changes as evidence that margins may recover across the business. UnitedHealth Group gains after Q3 beat and higher 2026 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Potential Medicare and 2027 growth drivers: UnitedHealth’s emphasis on special-needs plans, expanded Medicare coverage, AI initiatives and expected Medicaid margin improvement after 2026 could support targeted growth. Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $506, while Piper Sandler maintained an overweight rating and a $504 target. Goldman Sachs raises UNH target price to $506 following Q3 earnings beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed: Some firms see substantial upside after the earnings beat, but TD Cowen reaffirmed a hold rating with a $402 target, below the recently traded level. Seeking Alpha commentary also cautioned that much of the improved outlook may already be reflected in the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Growth and cost concerns remain: Revenue was roughly flat year over year, membership has declined, and commercial medical costs and Medicaid pressures continue to weigh on margins. These issues caused some investors to question whether the earnings improvement can translate into durable growth. UnitedHealth Beats on Earnings, But Investors Question Growth Path

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care and well-being company serving individuals, employers, health care providers and government programs. Its operations are organized primarily through UnitedHealthcare and Optum.

UnitedHealthcare provides health benefit plans and services, including employer-sponsored coverage, individual and family plans, Medicare and Medicaid offerings, and other government-supported programs. Its services include health insurance administration, pharmacy benefits and care management.

Optum provides health care services, technology and data solutions, pharmacy services, and analytics to health plans, employers, government agencies, health care providers and consumers.