UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Shares Sold by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 24.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 36,205 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,411 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. North Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 194 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its position 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 last quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,631 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 244 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seamount Financial Group Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.7% in the second quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. now owns 818 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

More UnitedHealth Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho reiterated a Buy on UNH and kept a $430 price target, highlighting the importance of the upcoming Medicare Advantage 2027 Advance Notice as a potential tailwind for enrollment and margins. Mizuho reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Retail sentiment on Reddit and X has moved from deeply bearish to neutral over the past week, helping shares recover after retail-driven selling earlier this month. Reddit sentiment shift
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target slightly (from $411 to $409) but kept an Overweight rating, signaling continued analyst confidence despite a small technical cut to the target. Morgan Stanley target change
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary and market moves note UNH has outperformed the broader market in short-term trading, reflecting mixed buying interest ahead of the Jan. 27 catalyst. Outperforms broader market
• Negative Sentiment: UnitedHealth executives faced tough questioning from Congress on healthcare affordability — a reminder of political/regulatory risk that could pressure policy outcomes or public perception. Congressional grilling
• Negative Sentiment: UnitedHealth announced it will rebate 2026 ACA plan profits to customers, which could weigh on near-term margins and highlights ongoing regulatory/competitive pressure in the individual market. ACA profit rebate
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn of rising medical costs and a higher medical cost ratio (MCR) heading into Q4 results — several pieces advise caution until the Jan. 27 release when clearer margin and cost detail will arrive. Cost pressures warning

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $433.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $386.00 to $391.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Leerink Partners set a $410.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $423.00 to $417.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $386.33.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $356.46 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $606.36. The company has a market cap of $322.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.42. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $332.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.14%.

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.