UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Shares Sold by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,984 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,199 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 220.0% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 80 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target on UnitedHealth Group to $480 and maintained a buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside ahead of earnings. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Raised to $480.00 at Truist Financial
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp lifted its price target to $475 and kept an overweight rating, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop for UNH. UnitedHealth Group had its price target raised by KeyCorp from $400.00 to $475.00.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded UnitedHealth to strong-buy and nudged up future EPS estimates, reinforcing expectations that the company can beat earnings again. UnitedHealth Group was upgraded by Zacks Research from hold to strong-buy.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been raising earnings forecasts for UnitedHealth, and several reports argue the company has a strong chance to top Q2 expectations based on its historical surprise record and favorable earnings setup. Will UnitedHealth (UNH) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: UNH is scheduled to report second-quarter results on July 16, so trading is being driven in part by positioning ahead of the earnings release. UnitedHealth Stock Forecast: Piper Sandler Analyst and Technical Indicators Point to Upside Ahead of Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical indicators and some market commentary suggest the stock may have room to move higher after earnings, but this is still contingent on the actual results and outlook. UnitedHealth Reports Earnings Thursday. Here’s How Much Its Stock Is Seen Moving
• Negative Sentiment: Broader managed-care stocks sold off after Elevance Health highlighted margin pressure and weak Medicaid-spending trends, which could weigh on sentiment toward UnitedHealth ahead of its report. Why Elevance Earnings Gave Health Insurance Stocks A Cold; UNH Up Next

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $417.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $402.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.04. The company has a market capitalization of $378.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $434.30.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.76 by $0.47. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 2.68%.The company had revenue of $111.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.250- EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 18.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $2.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.21. This represents a $9.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 70.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $278.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $385.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $373.00 to $429.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.50.

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.