UnitedHealth (UNH) jumps 6% as BofA upgrades to Buy and company announces higher quarterly dividend

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) is up 6.0% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears primarily tied to a bullish analyst action, with Bank of America upgrading UnitedHealth to Buy and raising its price target on signs that medical cost trends are improving into the second quarter. Separately, UnitedHealth disclosed annual meeting outcomes and a new quarterly dividend level, which may have added to positive sentiment.

Details:

Bank of America upgraded UNH to Buy from Neutral and lifted its price target to $450 from $420, citing improving medical cost trends and a more favorable setup into second-quarter earnings.

The analyst note highlighted moderating utilization/cost trends and suggested UnitedHealth, as a managed-care bellwether, could lead broader strength in the insurer group if trends persist.

UnitedHealth disclosed that shareholders re-elected the current directors and approved the advisory vote on executive compensation at its 2026 annual meeting.

The board authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $2.32 per share, payable June 23, 2026 to shareholders of record as of June 15, 2026 (an increase from the prior $2.21 quarterly payout).

Sources:

UnitedHealth Group, Investing.com, Business Wire

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

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$UNH Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 1,343 institutional investors add shares of $UNH stock to their portfolio, and 1,966 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

CHARLES SCHWAB INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC added 12,377,403 shares (+146.6%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $3,327,664,796
CAPITAL RESEARCH GLOBAL INVESTORS added 10,850,420 shares (+173.3%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $2,917,135,417
CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS removed 9,653,799 shares (-51.7%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $2,595,423,861
WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP removed 5,597,135 shares (-35.7%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $1,504,789,744
CAPITAL WORLD INVESTORS added 5,192,373 shares (+23.0%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $1,395,969,481
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC removed 5,039,564 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $1,354,886,781
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA removed 2,749,844 shares (-34.1%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $739,295,559

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$UNH Government Contracts

We have seen $15,526,061,733 of award payments to $UNH over the last year.

Here are some of the awards which we have have seen pay out the most over the last year:

EXPRESS REPORT: R3 FY25 3RD QTR APRIL: $830,362,703
EXPRESS REPORT: R3 FY25 3RD QTR MAY: $819,320,444
EXPRESS REPORT: R3 FY25 2ND QTR MARCH: $791,841,212
EXPRESS REPORT: R3 FY25 2ND QTR FEBRUARY: $730,504,137

To track government contracts to publicy traded companies, check out Quiver Quantitative's government contracts dashboard. You can access data on government contracts through the Quiver Quantitative API government contracts endpoint.

$UNH Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $UNH stock 11 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 8 have been purchases and 3 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $UNH stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

REPRESENTATIVE MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR has traded it 2 times. They made 2 purchases worth up to $30,000 on 04/22 and 0 sales.
REPRESENTATIVE GILBERT RAY CISNEROS, JR. has traded it 4 times. They made 3 purchases worth up to $80,000 on 04/14, 03/13, 12/19 and 1 sale worth up to $50,000 on 02/10.
REPRESENTATIVE RICHARD MCCORMICK purchased up to $15,000 on 03/19.
SENATOR MARKWAYNE MULLIN purchased up to $100,000 on 02/25.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSH GOTTHEIMER purchased up to $15,000 on 02/05.
REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN HERN sold up to $500,000 on 12/23.
REPRESENTATIVE JULIE JOHNSON sold up to $15,000 on 12/18.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard. You can access data on congressional stock trades through the Quiver Quantitative API Congress trades endpoint.

$UNH Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $UNH in the last several months. We have seen 6 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Mizuho issued a "Outperform" rating on 02/05/2026
Truist Securities issued a "Buy" rating on 02/02/2026
Barclays issued a "Overweight" rating on 01/30/2026
Wells Fargo issued a "Overweight" rating on 01/30/2026
Jefferies issued a "Buy" rating on 01/28/2026
Leerink Partners issued a "Outperform" rating on 01/28/2026

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $UNH, check out Quiver Quantitative's $UNH forecast page.

$UNH Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $UNH recently. We have seen 19 analysts offer price targets for $UNH in the last 6 months, with a median target of $400.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Kevin Fischbeck from B of A Securities set a target price of $450.0 on 06/04/2026
David Macdonald from Truist Securities set a target price of $440.0 on 06/01/2026
Lance Wilkes from Bernstein set a target price of $492.0 on 05/27/2026
Andrew Mok from Barclays set a target price of $429.0 on 05/26/2026
A.J. Rice from UBS set a target price of $460.0 on 05/22/2026
Ann Hynes from Mizuho set a target price of $440.0 on 05/20/2026
Lisa Gill from JP Morgan set a target price of $420.0 on 04/28/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.