UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Price Target Raised to $397.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $370.00 to $397.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the healthcare conglomerate’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on UNH. Evercore raised UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $425.00 to $389.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $377.68.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of UNH opened at $353.51 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $290.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.09. UnitedHealth Group has a twelve month low of $234.60 and a twelve month high of $438.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $111.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.84 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 2.68%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.20 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 18.250- EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 18.43 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 67.02%.

Institutional Trading of UnitedHealth Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 220.0% in the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 80 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key UnitedHealth Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and raised guidance — UNH reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $7.23 (vs. consensus ~$6.76) and revenue of ~$111.7B, and raised FY‑2026 adjusted EPS guidance to above $18.25, citing improved management of medical costs. This is the main catalyst for the rally. Business Wire — Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price‑target increases — Multiple firms (Argus, RBC, Oppenheimer, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, etc.) raised ratings or targets after the report, adding upward pressure as sell‑side momentum attracts buyers. 247wallst — Analyst Upgrades
• Positive Sentiment: AI & operational initiatives — Management flagged a meaningful AI investment (and Optum Real transaction scale), which investors view as a durable margin/efficiency tailwind if deployment scales as planned. That narrative supports higher multiple assumptions. Yahoo Finance — Q1 Deep Dive (AI)
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish options flow — Unusual activity: ~164k call options traded (≈30% above average), signaling short‑term bullish positioning from traders and institutional players.
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector sentiment spillover — UNH’s beat dragged peers higher (CVS, Humana, Centene); positive industry momentum can amplify the stock move but doesn’t change UNH’s fundamentals. Yahoo — Sector Impact
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing risks remain — Management warned of challenges around a Medicare obesity‑drug pilot and cautioned that medical‑cost dynamics are still the key risk; if costs reaccelerate, margins and guidance could reverse. Reuters — Medicare Obesity Drug Pilot Challenges

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.