UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) announced today that its Board of Directors, at its regular meeting on February 9, 2010, authorized payment of an annual dividend to shareholders for 2010. The dividend, $0.03 per share, will be paid on April 20, 2010, to all shareholders of record of UnitedHealth Group common stock as of the close of business on April 6, 2010. The company also paid a $0.03 per share dividend in 2009.
The Board also renewed and increased the Company’s Share Repurchase Program, under which up to 120 million shares of the Company’s common shares may now be repurchased. This includes approximately 23 million shares remaining under the previous share repurchase program. UnitedHealth Group repurchased 74 million shares of stock at a weighted average purchase price of $24.26 per share in 2009. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had approximately 1.15 billion common shares outstanding.