California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 252,456 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

18 Jul 2026, 11:40 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,186,539 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 252,456 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $591,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 995,210 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,232,170 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,931,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119,834 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,591,042 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,457,723,000 after purchasing an additional 824,120 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,829,054 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,215,660,000 after buying an additional 680,077 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings 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 valued at $6,158,734,000 after buying an additional 1,155,162 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total transaction of $284,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 17,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,320,775. The trade was a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $426.39 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $461.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $404.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $342.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.23 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $1.44. The firm had revenue of $112.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.81 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 3.14%.The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.08 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 19.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $2.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $9.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.21. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 70.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Argus upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $440.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $340.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $447.29.

Read Our Latest Report on UnitedHealth Group

Key Headlines Impacting UnitedHealth Group

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

Positive Sentiment: UnitedHealth beat Q2 estimates on earnings and revenue, driven by improved margins and lower medical costs, and raised its 2026 profit outlook. UnitedHealth shares surge on strong earnings beat and guidance
Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, UBS, RBC, and other firms lifted price targets after the results, signaling stronger Street confidence in the stock’s recovery. Analyst price target updates
Positive Sentiment: Management doubled the 2026 share repurchase target to at least $5 billion, which may help support EPS and investor returns. What’s Fueling UNH Stock’s Rally? A Bigger Buyback, Higher Guidance – And CEO Says Turnaround Is ‘Returning To Form’
Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around the earnings call says Medicare Advantage and Optum are improving, but commercial cost pressures could delay a full margin recovery. UnitedHealth Q2 Earnings Call Focuses on Reset and Durable Growth
Negative Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious, with at least one downgrade noting that the turnaround still faces execution risk despite the stronger quarter. UnitedHealth Group Q2: The Real Test Begins Now (Downgrade)

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.