UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 2% Following Analyst Upgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares shot up 2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $386.00 to $391.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as high as $352.61 and last traded at $348.8120. 9,390,754 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the average session volume of 8,069,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $342.02.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $385.75.

Key Headlines Impacting UnitedHealth Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst confidence has been rising, recasting UNH’s investment story toward a steadier, buy-and-hold narrative as analysts point to durable cash flow and margin resilience. This supports multiple expansion and institutional demand. How Rising Analyst Confidence At UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Has Changed Its Investment Story
• Positive Sentiment: Motley Fool included UNH among top Dow picks for 2026, highlighting long-term growth drivers (Medicare Advantage, Optum services) that can attract buy-side interest and support the stock. 2 Dow Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist in 2026 and 1 to Avoid
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst named UNH a top pick and nudged up its price target, a catalyst that likely supported earlier intraday buying and underpins upside expectations versus peers. Why UnitedHealth Stock Bumped Higher Today
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore upgraded UNH to Outperform despite noting elevated utilization trends — the upgrade signals confidence in management’s ability to manage costs and sustain growth, which can attract buyers. UnitedHealth wins outperform at Evercore despite elevated utilization trends
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts are reworking the earnings-recovery narrative, tempering near-term growth expectations as utilization patterns fluctuate; this introduces near-term uncertainty even as the longer-term thesis remains intact. Looking At The Narrative For UnitedHealth Group UNH After Shifting Earnings Recovery Expectations

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth $29,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 83 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $309.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $329.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 4.04%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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 $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.14%.

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.