Will The Dow Benefit UnitedHealth?

Health insurance provider UnitedHealth UNH will become its sector's first representative in the prestigious Dow Jones Industrial Average. The change takes effect on September 24 when the venerable index parts ways with Kraft KFT, the largest U.S. food company. Being in the Dow is a nice feather in a company's cap and it can lead to a near-term bounce in the shares as fund managers that are indexed to the Dow are forced to acquire the new stock while selling the departing name. As for how a new Dow addition performs over the long haul, that is a different story. The track record of the index's recent departures, particularly those not forced out because of the financial crisis, is mixed. Here is a look at some of the most recent additions to the blue-chip index and how those stocks have performed since becoming one of the Dow 30. Chevron CVX Chevron has been in out of the Dow. The stock was expelled in 1999 only to return in February 2008. During the time Chevron was away from the Dow, the stock nearly doubled. Since returning, the stock is up "just" 38 percent. Cisco Systems CSCO Down about two percent since its addition to the Dow in June 2009, it is a gracious assessment to say the former tech darling has done a whole lot of nothing with its Dow status. Then again, it should be noted this is a not a Dow issue. It is a Cisco issue. The halcyon days Cisco treated investors to during the first tech boom were long gone before it became a Dow stock. Travelers TRV Property and casualty insurance provider Travelers was added to the Dow on the same as Cisco with the pair replacing Citigroup C and General Motors GM. Travelers coming as Citi was going was an odd twist of fate because the insurance firm was spun-off from the bank in 2002. That was a wise move on the part of Dow Jones. Travelers has jumped almost 69 percent since joining the index. Kraft Kraft did not spend a long time in the blue-chip index. Its last trading day as a Dow stock will be barely more than four years removed from its first Dow day. To date, Kraft has returned 14.2 percent as a Dow stock. The company replaced American International Group AIG at the height of the financial crisis. Bank of America BAC Assume for a moment that Bank of America was chosen to replace Altria MO. That "trade" looks almost as bad as picking Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in the NBA draft or what the Boston Red Sox got in return for trading Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. BofA has plunged almost 78 percent since joining the Dow and has infamously slashed its dividend to a penny per share per quarter. Altria was trading around $23 when the stock left the index and closed just under $33 Friday. Altria has also raised its dividend six times since leaving the Dow. Pfizer PFE The pharmaceuticals giant has been a value destroyer since joining the Dow in April 2004, falling almost 34 percent in that time. Add to the that, the Viagra maker pared its dividend by 50 percent in the second quarter of 2009. To be fair, the stock is showing signs of life. Pfizer has surged 31.1 percent in the past year and the dividend has been increased three times in the past three years. Verizon VZ Verizon joined the Dow on the same days as Pfizer, but the overall performances could hardly be different. The telecommunications giant's shares have risen about 20 percent in that time while its dividend has climbed 30 percent. Over the past year and year-to-date, Verizon has been outperformed by rival AT&T T.