Alden Global Capital LLC Makes New $5.86 Million Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Alden Global Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 17,750 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,859,000. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 2.8% of Alden Global Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,600,260 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,238,162,000 after buying an additional 995,210 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,232,170 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $14,931,592,000 after buying an additional 1,119,834 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,591,042 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,457,723,000 after buying an additional 824,120 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,829,054 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,215,660,000 after buying an additional 680,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,655,111 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,158,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,162 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key UnitedHealth Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners raised its price target on UnitedHealth Group to $462 from $400 and reiterated an outperform rating, citing improved margin expectations at Optum Health and signaling confidence in the company’s recovery efforts. Leerink Raises UnitedHealth PT
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary has grown more constructive on UnitedHealth’s turnaround, with analysts pointing to better long-term profitability at its Optum Health unit as a reason the stock could recover further. UnitedHealth Stock Gets a Target Price Increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate coverage noted that hedge funds have continued to buy UnitedHealth, suggesting institutional interest remains solid, though this is not a direct catalyst by itself. Hedge Funds Bought UnitedHealth
• Neutral Sentiment: One investor-letter item said Sustainable Growth Advisers sold its stake in UNH, but the article provided limited detail on the reason, so the stock impact is unclear. SGA Sold UnitedHealth Stake
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the bullish analyst note, UNH also traded lower than the broader market in the latest session, reflecting that investors are still cautious about the pace and durability of the turnaround. UnitedHealth Fell More Than Broader Market

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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 transaction of $284,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 17,805 shares in the company, valued at $6,320,775. This represents a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Argus upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $370.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $409.75.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.0%

UNH opened at $399.33 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $415.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $369.93 and a 200-day moving average of $328.55. The stock has a market cap of $362.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.64.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.76 by $0.47. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 14.65%. 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 prior year, the company posted $7.20 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 18.32 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $2.32 per share. This represents a $9.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.09%.

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.