UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend to 16.25 Cents; Renews Authorization to Repurchase 110M Shares

UnitedHealth Group UNH today announced that its Board of Directors authorized payment of a cash dividend of $0.1625 per share, to be paid on June 21, 2011, to all shareholders of record of UnitedHealth Group common stock as of the close of business on June 7, 2011. This represents an increase over the quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share the Company paid beginning with the second quarter of 2010. Future dividend payments are subject to Board approval and may be adjusted as business needs or market conditions change. The Board also renewed the Company's Share Repurchase Program, authorizing the purchase of 110 million shares over time. This Board Action replaces the February 2010 authorization to purchase up to 120 million shares (or approximately 10 percent of the Company's shares then outstanding). As of April 30, 2011, there were 28 million shares remaining under the prior authorization, and the Company had approximately 1.1 billion common shares outstanding.