Principle Wealth Partners LLC Buys 2,709 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Principle Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 19.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,453 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,709 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,572,193,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 105,621 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,471,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 20,683 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,462,000 after buying an additional 3,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 111.5% during the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 41,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,282,000 after acquiring an additional 22,137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS modestly beat and Optum Rx showed strength — the company reported $2.11 EPS, a slight beat, and management pointed to segment-level performance (Optum Rx) that supported earnings. Zacks: UnitedHealth Q4 Earnings Beat on Strong Optum Rx
• Positive Sentiment: Profit guidance roughly in line / cost-control progress — management forecast adjusted 2026 profit slightly above estimates and emphasized ongoing cost controls as part of its turnaround. Reuters: UnitedHealth forecasts 2026 profit slightly above estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Management provided full earnings release and call transcript — useful for assessing assumptions behind guidance and cost initiatives before making a position change. Seeking Alpha: Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and weak 2026 revenue outlook — Q4 revenue ($113.2B) missed estimates and the company guided to ~$439B for 2026 (implying a year‑over‑year decline), a key reason investors sold shares. MSN: UnitedHealth forecasts first revenue drop in nearly four decades
• Negative Sentiment: Medicare-rate proposal shocked insurers — a proposed Trump administration/CMS update that would keep Medicare Advantage payments nearly flat materially worsened the revenue outlook for insurers and amplified the selloff. CNBC: Health insurers tumble after Trump proposes keeping Medicare rates flat
• Negative Sentiment: Large restructuring charge hit near-term results — UnitedHealth took a ~$1.6B charge tied to restructuring as it “right-sizes” Optum and other operations, pressuring Q4 profit and near-term visibility. Forbes: UnitedHealth Takes $1.6 Billion Hit
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction, downgrades and systemic drag — analysts cut ratings/targets and UNH’s drop pulled down the Dow and health-care ETFs, increasing forced selling and volatility risk. Investopedia: What’s Driving the Huge Decline
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/political scrutiny and insider trading questions — reports that lawmakers sold UNH stock ahead of the crash have drawn attention and could add reputational and legal noise. Finbold: Politicians Sold UNH Stock Before Crash

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $411.00 to $409.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $386.00 to $391.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $386.33.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 19.7%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $282.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $332.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $323.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $255.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.42. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $606.36.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $113.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.38 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.81 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.750- EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.14%.

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.