UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,314 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,749 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 69.4% during the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 105 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about UnitedHealth Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on UNH to $391 and kept an Overweight rating, citing expectations that managed-care margins will recover in 2026 — a direct bullish catalyst for the stock. UnitedHealth (UNH) Poised to Benefit as Investor Focus Shifts Away From AI, Says Barclays
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI upgraded UnitedHealth to a “strong-buy,” a high-profile endorsement that likely attracted buying interest and contributed to positive intraday flows. Evercore Upgrade (via Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage notes and headlines reporting analyst upgrades (for example, AmericanBankingNews coverage of a post-upgrade move) are amplifying momentum by bringing attention to the firm’s improving analyst sentiment. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Shares Up 2% Following Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Sector-level tailwinds: recent commentary and ETF flows into health-care (VHT) highlight a broader rotation into healthcare stocks — lower relative valuations and demand for defensive, inelastic businesses are helping lift large-cap insurers like UNH. (Sector coverage summarized in recent market articles.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analytical pieces looking at what has weighed on UNH’s performance provide context for risks investors should monitor (e.g., benefit-cycle timing, margin pressure in parts of the business). These are explanatory, not new catalysts; they help investors assess whether current upgrades reflect durable earnings improvement. Here’s What Hit UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH) Performance

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.75.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $346.57 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $606.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $313.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $329.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $320.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $113.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.15 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.