WellPoint Board Boosts Share Buyback to $4.2 Billion

WellPoint Inc. (WLP), the second-biggest U.S. health insurer, increased its authorization to buy back shares to about $4.2 billion.

WellPoint raised its share repurchase amount by $3.5 billion and intends to buy the stock “over a multi-year period, subject to market and industry conditions,” the Indianapolis-based company said today in a regulatory filing. It is the insurer’s first new buyback authorization since a $5 billion plan announced in 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Read more.

UnitedHealth Group Stock May Go Up 40% With ObamaCare Rollout

The stock of U.S. insurer UnitedHealth Group could rise 40 percent over the next two years as Obamacare is fully rolled out, business weekly Barron's said in its July 8 edition.

Group's stock is up 22 percent for the year to date. The stock hit a 52-week intraday high of $66.36 on July 1, according to Thomson Reuters data. On Friday, the stock closed at $66.17. Read more.