UnitedHealth Group Full Dividend History & Analysis (UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Inc. is a diversified healthcare and insurance company serving millions of individuals worldwide through its comprehensive portfolio of health services.

The company’s two segments, UnitedHealthcare and Optum, with each contributing about 50% of operating profits. UnitedHealthcare provides health insurance coverage services to individuals, employers, and government programs, while Optum delivers healthcare services through pharmacy care and data-driven solutions.

UNH’s dividend yield for the last 12 months is 1.3%, which means that investors would get $13 in dividends per year for every $1,000 invested in the stock. The dividend yield is found by dividing the company’s dividend over the last twelve months, $7.74, by the stock’s share price, $582, which is how we arrive at a dividend yield of 1.3%.

UNH’s current dividend yield is 1.5% lower than its 5-year average:

It’s generally better to buy a stock when its dividend yield is higher than its historical average because a stock’s dividend yield rises as its share price falls.

Buying high-quality dividend stocks during periods when the dividend yield is higher than average can be an effective investing strategy.

Unfortunately, UnitedHealthcare’s dividend yield is pretty low today, but the stock has seen tremendous dividend growth in recent years.

Notable Historic Dividend Yields:

• Last fiscal year average dividend yield: 1.3%
• 3-year average dividend yield: 1.3%
• 5-year average dividend yield: 1.3%
• 10-year average dividend yield: 1.4%

 

Check out UnitedHealth Group’s full dividend history >>>

• UnitedHealthcare distributes its dividend on a quarterly basis, which means that it pays one-quarter of its annual dividend once every three months.
• UnitedHealthcare’s next ex-dividend date is expected to be in early December 2024, which implies that investors who purchase shares before early December will be eligible to receive dividends on those shares on the next dividend payment date.
• UnitedHealthcare’s next dividend payment date is expected to be in mid-December 2024. This means that any long-term shareholders or new investors who buy their shares before the upcoming ex-dividend date will receive dividends on their shares in mid-December.

Dividend safety is important for investors because it measures a company’s ability to continue paying and increasing dividends to shareholders without stopping or reducing dividend payments.

Cutting dividends is highly frowned upon on Wall Street, so companies will generally only reduce or cut their dividend payments if they don’t have the financial means to continue paying dividends.

That’s why it’s important to judge a company’s financial health. A business that has a high dividend safety rating has strong earnings that can support dividend payments, so there’s a low risk of the company reducing its dividends.

Payout Ratio & Earnings Analysis

• LTM Dividends per Share: $7.74
• LTM Earnings per Share: $15.14
• LTM Payout Ratio: 50.6%

UnitedHealth Group has a payout ratio for the last twelve months of 50.6%, which indicates that 50.6% of its $15.14 in earnings per share were distributed as a $7.74 dividend over the last 12 months.

A company with a low payout ratio below 70% typically has a strong dividend with a decreased risk of reducing its dividend. These companies retain a substantial portion of their earnings, which allows them to reinvest in the business, build financial reserves, and weather economic downturns.

Financial Health

UnitedHealthcare has averaged a 29.0% payout ratio over the past 10 years:

Notable Historic Payout Ratios:

• LTM payout ratio: 50.6%
• 3-year average payout ratio: 30.2%
• 5-year average payout ratio: 29.7%
• 10-year average payout ratio: 29.0%

 

Check out UnitedHealth Group’s complete financial statements >>>

For the next fiscal year, Wall Street analysts expect UnitedHealth Group to have a dividend payout ratio of 30.0%.

This indicates that UnitedHealthCare should be able to comfortably make its dividend payments for the next fiscal year.

It is worth noting that dividend safety can change over time, so it’s important to regularly monitor a company’s financial performance and dividend payment history.

Dividend growth is an important aspect of dividend investing because it means that dividends will grow over time, which helps to offset the erosive forces of inflation and boost total shareholder returns.

It also signals that a company prioritizes shareholders’ returns and shows that management has confidence that the company’s earnings will grow in the future.

The chart below shows how UnitedHealthCare has grown dividends per share at a 16.1% 5-Year CAGR, which is an above average dividend growth rate:

Notable Dividend Growth Rates:

• Last Fiscal Year’s Dividend Growth: 13.9%
• 3-Year Dividend Growth: 14.7% CAGR
• 5-Year Dividend Growth: 16.1% CAGR
• 10-Year Dividend Growth: 21.4% CAGR

What truly matters for dividend investors is a company’s potential to continue growing its dividends, as this will determine whether UnitedHealth Group will be a reliable dividend stock.

Analysts expect UnitedHealth Group to grow its dividends per share at an average growth rate of 10.7% over the next 2 years:

View all Analyst Estimates for UnitedHealth Group >>>

UnitedHealth Group has increased its dividends to shareholders for 34 consecutive years.

This makes UnitedHealth Group a Dividend Aristocrat. Analysts expect Coca-Cola to grow its dividends per share at an average growth rate of 5.0% over the next 2 years

The dividend history graph below shows a visual record of UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payments to shareholders over the past several years, and the chart below shows UnitedHealth Group’s history of quarterly dividend payments: