(Reuters) - WellPoint Inc posted a higher-than-expected third-quarter profit as the health insurer added members and saved on administrative expenses, and it raised its full-year profit forecast.
Quarterly net income fell to $683.2 million from $739.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose to $1.90 from $1.84 a year ago, when the company had more outstanding stock.
Excluding investment gains, earnings of $1.77 per share were 9 cents ahead of the analysts' average estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
