Unitedhealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) raised its payout by a sharp 30% to $0.1625 per quarter from a prior payout of $0.125.  AT $47.96, this new $0.65 annualized payout generates a dividend yield of about 1.35%.  United also authorized the repurchase of 110 million shares over time. A 1.35% payout might not sound like much but this is after a year of having a real dividend and is a signal that more hikes are likely to continue.  Like it or not, Unitedhealth is one of the surviving insurance companies even if the healthcare sector is being turned into a utility.  Utilities have high payouts.

Unum Group (NYSE: UNM) raised its $0.925 payout to $0.105 per quarter.  The new yield of $0.42 per quarter comes to 1.62% based on a $25.80 share price.  The life and disability insurance sector has so far managed to evade ‘reform’ in the same manner of healthcare and the dividend is proof.

It was just back on April 26 that Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) announced a new dividend rate that will be $0.25 per quarter per share of common stock that came to about 1.30% in dividend yield at the time.  Humana competes directly against Unitedhealth.  ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE) is another insurer, although it is a reinsurance and insurance company, which just hiked its payout back on May 18 and that yield is roughly 2% now despite the woes of Japan.

Some shareholders like stock buybacks, but almost all investors love dividends.  When companies start raising dividends like this it seems that the intention is to keep raising dividends.

JON C. OGG

We tracked buybacks from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD), Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP), MedcoHealth Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Unum Group (NYSE: UNM), Altria Inc. (NYSE: MO), AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC), Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX), Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH), Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF), and from Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC).  We have outlined some basics on each below.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) added to its prior buyout plan with some $5 billion this week.  Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) announced this week that it would buy back up to 40 million shares, which comes to about $375 million or so versus a market cap of $46 billion.  GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) also jumped into the buyback bandwagon and authorized some $500 million for buybacks over the next year and a half.  Not bad at all for a $3 billion market cap.  Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) committed some $600 million over an 18-month period versus a market cap of roughly $600 million.  When video game companies resort to share buybacks, does that sound like great growth?

This week came another plan from General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) after its board approved the repurchase of up to 10 million common shares.  That comes to about $750 million versus a $28 billion market cap.  Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) reported this week that it was using up to $600 million to expand its prior buyback program.  That is massive in terms of scale if you consider its $3.3 billion market cap.  MedcoHealth Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS) added to its buyback plan and the authorization went to $3 billion.  Not bad for a $26 billion company.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) only utilized about 40% of its prior buyback plan, but this week it announced a buyback plan for up to 100 million shares.  That would come to about $3.6 billion or so versus a market cap of about $102 billion.  Unum Group (NYSE: UNM) reported with its earnings that it would buy back up to $1 billion in common stock versus a market cap of roughly $8 billion.

Late in January came announcements of $1 billion from Altria Inc. (NYSE: MO), a doubling in the total buybacks to some $4 billion from AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), and $1 billion from Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC).  Even Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) threw in up to $750 million for buybacks over the next couple of years.  Another buyback plan in late-January came from Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) for some $750 million.

Purses, belts, wallets, and even jewelry must translate to buyback.  In late-January came buyback announcements form Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF).  Coach set $1.5 billion versus a market cap of close to $16 billion, while Tiffany & Co. said it would resume share buybacks with some $402 million remaining.

Two weeks ago came the Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) announcement of a $10 billion buyback plan versus close to a $120 billion market cap.

The irony is that we did not even tally up the few dozen that were listed in the $50 to $250 million range in the recent days and weeks.  We tallied over $30 billion by the same method for December.  The buybacks continue…

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JON C. OGG

BNP Paribas was downgraded to “equal weight” from “overweight” by Morgan Stanley on valuation grounds Natixis SA was cut to “underweight” from “equal weight.”

EADS upped to “overweight” at JP Morgan.

BTT drops CSX (NYSE: CSX) to “hold” from a “buy”

Unum (NYSE: UNM) knocked down to “market perform” by Wells Fargo.

Goldman Sachs raises TDAmeritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) to “buy” from “neutral” and adds $20 price target.

National Semiconductor downgraded to “underperform” by First Global.

S&P upgraded its long-term credit rating of Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to “A+’ from “A”

Fitch downgraded Blockbuster’s non-investment grade default rating to “D”

Douglas A. McIntyre

As Carl Icahn and his friends are multi-billionaires, we have eliminated the positions under $50 million since smaller postions are hardly worth his time and effort. The left column is the dollar amounts and the second number is the number of shares:

• ANADARKO PETROLEUM (NYSE: APC) $970,600,000  14,775,468 shares
• BEA SYSTEMS (NASDAQ: BEAS)  $654,176,000; 41,456,016 shares
• BIOGEN IDEC (NASDAQ: BIIB)  $469,973,000; 8,256,723 shares
• CSX CORP (NYSE: CSX) $128,422,000; 2,920,000
• LEAR CORP (NYSE: LEA) 265,424,000; 9,595,954 shares
• MACYS (NYSE: M)  $133,610,000; 5,164,660 shares
• MOTOROLA (NYSE: MOT) $969,881,000; 60,466,400 shares
• J.C.PENNEY (NYSE: JCP)  $183,274,000; 4,166,271 shares
• REGENERON PHARMA (NASDAQ: REGN)  $60,568,000; 2,508,001 shares
• TEMPLE INLAND (NYSE: TIN) $71,901,000; 3,448,488 shares
• TIME WARNER CABLE (NYSE: TWC) $130,027,000; 4,711,128 shares
• TIME WARNER INC (NYSE: TWX) $213,526,000; 12,933,159
• UNUM GROUP (NYSE: UNM) $95,659,000; 4,020,960 shares
• WILLIAMS COS INC (NYSE: WMB)  $173,201,000; 4,840,724 shares

Jon C. Ogg
February 14, 2008

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in any of the companies he covers.  Join the 24/7 Wall St. open email distribution list to hear of spin-offs, emerging IPO, break-up, reorganization, and other special situation stocks.