Health insurer UnitedHealth Group (UNH 1.35%) announced this morning its second-quarter dividend of $0.28 per share, a 32% increase over the $0.2125-per-share payout made last quarter.
The board of directors said the quarterly dividend is payable on June 26 to the holders of record at the close of business on June 17. The company has made quarterly cash payouts since 2010, but had made annual dividend payments before then, beginning in 1990.
The board also said it was replacing what was left on the share repurchase plan that it had authorized in June 2012 with a commitment to purchase some 110 million shares "over time." As of May 31 there were approximately 63 million shares remaining under the prior authorization. UnitedHealth had approximately 1 billion shares outstanding as of May 31.
The regular dividend payment equates to a $1.12-per-share annual dividend, yielding 1.8% based on the closing price of UnitedHealth Group's stock on June 4.
UNH Dividend data by YCharts. Chart does not reflect the new, higher dividend payment announcement.
