Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,419,703 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 583,226 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,119,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 80 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% during the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 83 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $284,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 17,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,320,775. This represents a 4.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of UNH opened at $400.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $404.15. The company has a market capitalization of $363.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $348.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $323.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $111.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.84 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.20 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.250- EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 18.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $2.32 dividend. This represents a $9.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.21. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 66.77%.

UnitedHealth Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America upgraded UnitedHealth Group to Buy and raised its price target to $450, citing improving medical cost trends and a better risk/reward setup heading into earnings. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also lifted its price target on UNH to $453 and kept an Overweight rating, reinforcing the view that sentiment is improving. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: UnitedHealth raised its quarterly dividend by 5% to $2.32 per share, extending its long streak of annual dividend increases and signaling financial strength. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Healthcare stocks, including UnitedHealth, are benefiting from a broader sector rebound as investors seek defensive stability and rotate out of more volatile areas of the market. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage notes that UNH has already recovered sharply year to date, outpacing the broader market and its industry peer group. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles continue to highlight ongoing concerns around rising medical costs, managed-care scrutiny, and the stock’s earlier challenges, which could limit upside if operating trends worsen. Article link

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $410.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $361.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $395.00 to $453.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $410.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $404.42.

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.