Leerink Partnrs Has Negative Outlook of UNH Q3 Earnings

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report released on Tuesday, July 29th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now anticipates that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings per share of $2.49 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.60. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $29.54 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q4 2025 earnings at $2.43 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $16.22 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.09 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $4.35 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.95 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.86 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $17.25 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $22.34 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $25.90 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $28.45 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on UNH. Wall Street Zen cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $373.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $237.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $215.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $296.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $416.24.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.