Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. Cuts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. decreased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 243,684 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 12,443 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 4.6% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $80,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 126.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,042,049 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,503,419,000 after acquiring an additional 7,293,009 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,766,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,516,107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,439,182 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,499,949 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,042,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747,337 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $528,273,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,823,871 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $629,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $327.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $340.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $361.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $387.57.

Trending Headlines about UnitedHealth Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on UnitedHealth Group to $460 from $410 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report on UBS target increase
• Positive Sentiment: UnitedHealth was highlighted by multiple outlets as a high-quality stock and a turnaround bet, with commentary noting that managed care is outgrowing the broader economy and that the company is benefiting from AI adoption in operations. Motley Fool article on AI and turnaround
• Neutral Sentiment: UnitedHealth also appeared in a hedge-fund “high quality stocks” list and a Goldman Sachs conviction-list discussion, which supports the stock’s investment case but does not change fundamentals on its own. InsiderMonkey article on turnaround case
• Negative Sentiment: There is still headline risk around Medicare Advantage overpayments, with a Congressional committee estimating about $7 billion annually in excess payments to private insurers, which could keep regulatory scrutiny on managed-care names like UNH. 247WallSt article on Medicare Advantage overpayments
• Negative Sentiment: Recent discussion also noted that Berkshire-linked selling contributed to a prior stock slide, underscoring that investor sentiment can still turn quickly. Barchart article on Berkshire stake sale

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $388.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $352.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $326.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.63. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $404.15.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.76 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $111.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.84 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 2.68%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.20 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.250- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 18.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.77%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

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