Zacks Research Comments on UnitedHealth Group Incorporated’s Q3 2025 Earnings (NYSE:UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) – Zacks Research cut their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for UnitedHealth Group in a research report issued on Tuesday, September 3rd. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now forecasts that the healthcare conglomerate will post earnings of $8.18 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $8.33. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth Group’s current full-year earnings is $27.67 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for UnitedHealth Group’s Q1 2026 earnings at $8.29 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $8.52 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on UNH. Argus increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $595.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $549.90 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $557.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $514.62. UnitedHealth Group has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $607.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after buying an additional 544,740 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,961,369,000 after purchasing an additional 324,733 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after buying an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $5,802,231,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.