The company gave guidance for the 2015 full year. It expects EPS to be $10.00 and that operating revenue will be $78.0 billion. There are consensus estimates of $10.10 in EPS on $78.15 billion in revenue.
For the third quarter, Anthem declared a dividend to shareholders of $0.625 per share, which is $2.50 on an annualized basis. The company had previously paid that same dividend in the second quarter.
During the second quarter, Anthem repurchased roughly 4.0 million shares of its common stock for nearly $637 million. At this time the company has $4.3 billion remaining in its share repurchase authorization.
Wayne DeVeydt, executive vice president and CFO of Anthem, said:
Second quarter results reflect continued execution across our businesses. During the quarter, we repurchased 4.0 million shares and distributed $163.9 million to shareholders in dividends while continuing to invest in our strategic pillars of provider collaboration, total cost of care management and consumer centricity to benefit our ability to serve members.
Joseph Swedish, President and CEO of Anthem, commented on earnings:
We are pleased to report solid second quarter 2015 results as we make progress towards driving greater health care access, affordability and choice. Second quarter results reflect contributions from both our Commercial and Government businesses and we believe the growing diversity of our business model better serves our customers.
At the end of the second quarter, the company had $1.55 billion in cash and cash equivalents compared to $2.15 billion at the end of December 2014.
Shares of Anthem closed Tuesday up 1.8% at $154.20 on a 52-week trading range of $106.52 to $173.59. In early trading indications, shares were up 3.1% at $159.00. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $181.31.
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