Anthem hikes dividend by 18.9%
Anthem Inc (ANTM) will raise its quarterly dividend by 18,9 percent to $1.13 per share in 2021. This comes after a 18.8 percent hike to $0.95 per share was announced in January 2020. This will also mark the 10th consecutive year of annual dividend increases by the health benefits company.
The first quarter dividend is payable on March 25, 2021 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 10, 2021. A new annualized dividend rate of $4.52 per share yields 1.6% at a stock price of $290.
Anthem will now pay its shareholders an estimated $1.1 billion in dividends annually. The average dividend growth in the last five years jumps to 11.7 percent annually if we include this new increase just announced.
Anthem, Inc. is a health benefits company. The company offers managed care plans to large and small employer, individual, Medicaid and Medicare markets. Anthem has three reportable segments: Commercial & Specialty Business (comprised of the Local Group, National Accounts, Individual and Specialty businesses); Government Business (comprised of the Medicaid and Medicare businesses, National Government Services, and the Federal Employee Program); and Other (comprised of certain eliminations and corporate expenses not allocated to either of our other reportable segments). The company was formed when WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and Anthem, Inc. merged in 2004.
