Smead Capital Management Inc. Buys 77,680 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 330,118 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,680 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 2.2% of Smead Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Smead Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $113,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,312,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,624,411,000 after buying an additional 675,075 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,837,207,000. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 117.7% in the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,750,560 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,729,912,000 after purchasing an additional 4,730,192 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,502,469 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,340,346,000 after purchasing an additional 432,084 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 6,191,871 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565,245 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $425.00 to $389.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore raised UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.13.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.1%

UNH stock opened at $290.11 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $606.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $316.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $324.23.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.02. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The company had revenue of $113.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.81 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.