EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 24,815 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $10,314,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $4,376,167,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 76,863,061 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,946,594,000 after acquiring an additional 3,395,530 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 141.9% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,109,029 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,356,432,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410,128 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 864.4% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 2,523,700 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $833,099,000 after buying an additional 2,262,006 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,097,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on UNH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $466.00 to $516.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. KeyCorp raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $460.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Erste Group Bank raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $492.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $455.92.

UnitedHealth Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: UnitedHealth is reportedly prioritizing Medicare Advantage profitability over rapid membership growth by tightening benefits, improving pricing and controlling costs. The strategy could support stronger margins and more sustainable earnings, even if enrollment growth moderates. Is UnitedHealth Finding a Better Path to Medicare Advantage Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research added UNH to its Rank #1, or “Strong Buy,” lists for overall stocks, value stocks and income stocks. The repeated favorable rankings may reinforce investor confidence in the shares. New Strong Buy Stocks for August 21st
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised several forward EPS estimates, including Q1 2028 to $7.36 from $6.78 and Q2 2028 to $7.19 from $5.84. A separate report also noted an increase in the Q1 EPS estimate, while Zacks maintained a Strong Buy rating. Q1 EPS Estimate for UnitedHealth Group Increased by Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Forecast revisions were mixed: Q3 2027 EPS was reduced to $4.74 from $4.81 and Q4 2027 to $4.07 from $4.12, partially offsetting the increases for 2028.
• Negative Sentiment: Aon expects U.S. employer health-care costs to rise 9.5% in 2027. Persistent medical-cost inflation could pressure insurers’ margins and increase pricing, benefit and utilization-management challenges for UnitedHealth. AON Sees No Relief From Health-Cost Inflation

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $390.94 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $255.96 and a 52 week high of $461.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $350.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $413.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $356.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $1.44. The business 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 firm’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.08 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 19.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $205,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 16,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,763,770. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

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.