UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 29.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 7,483 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. North Capital Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 16.2% during the third quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 194 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Axis Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,631 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.5% during the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 244 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC now owns 982 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $411.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.42.

UnitedHealth Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bulls point to a better-than-feared Medicare Advantage outlook — the final 2027 CMS MA rate (reported at ~2.48% in coverage) is seen as adding roughly $1B of incremental operating profit and supporting a margin recovery that could re-rate the stock. Buy Before Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/bull commentary suggests UNH is set to challenge resistance around $360, which can attract momentum traders ahead of earnings. Poised To Challenge $360
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning ahead of Tuesday’s pre-market Q1 release: traders are pricing a meaningful post-earnings move and the possibility UNH returns to YTD gains if results beat expectations. Expected Move After Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple earnings previews (Yahoo Finance, Zacks) flag mixed Q1 signals: rising costs and modest membership headwinds could pressure margins, but services revenue growth and steady insurance operating income may allow an earnings beat — a classic near-term uncertainty around the print. Is It Time To Reassess?
• Neutral Sentiment: UnitedHealthcare’s community program backing a housing fund is positive for ESG/community reputation but likely immaterial to near-term valuation. Seabury Housing Stabilization Fund
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk persists: the government’s delay of a MA payment overhaul “postpones the pain” but keeps uncertainty around future MA profitability and valuation — commentary warns investors betting on a swift return to rich margins may be disappointed. A UnitedHealth Reckoning Still Looms

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $324.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $453.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $286.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.55.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $113.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.38 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.81 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.02%.

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.