IBM Boosts Dividend And Buyback Plan
About: Dow, International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM), IBM, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), International Business Machines, quarterly dividend, dividend increase, Dividend Genius, dividend stock, stock dividend, dividend stocks, stock dividends
Dow component International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM), the world's biggest provider of computer services, raised its quarterly dividend by 10 cents, or 18%, to 65 cents a share. That is more than double last year's dividend hike. The new dividend is payable on June 10th to shareholders of record on May 10th.
While expected by shareholders, the dividend increase is still good news following IBM's disappointing first-quarter earnings release last week. The company said its services business, IBM's most important business line, remains sluggish and that led to a sell-off in the shares. In addition to the new dividend, IBM did shareholders another good turn by adding $8 billion to a share buyback plan that had $2 billion remaining on it.
IBM is the third Dow constituent in a week to raise its payout. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) announced dividend increases last week. This is the 15th consecutive year in which IBM has boosted its dividend.
Thursday, 18 February 2010 16:44
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Headline-Worth Dividend Increases From The Media Sector
About: Media giant Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Time Warner, AOL, News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWS), Class A and Class B shares, Wal Disney (NYSE: DIS), Dividend Genius, dividend stock, dividend stocks, stock dividend, stock dividends)
Media giant Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), buoyed by strength in its film and network businesses, reported a fourth-quarter profit after reporting a loss in the year-earlier period, beating analyst estimates along the way. For income investors, the good news comes in the form of Time Warner boosting its quarterly dividend by 13% to 21.25 cents a share. Time Warner paid a dividend of 18.8 cents a share in the third quarter and the shares currently yield 2.7%. Based on the new payout, Time Warner would yield about 3.07%.
The earnings report was Time Warner's first following the spin-off the AOL business and the company said it expects 2010 earnings to grow in the “mid-teens.” Analysts are forecasting a 16% increase in 2010 earnings to $2.12 a share.
The news from Time Warner follows an announcement from rival News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWS), which said on Tuesday it would boost dividends on its Class A and Class B shares by 25% to 7.5 cents a share. That represents a yield of 1.1% on the Class A shares. News Corp. pays its dividend on a semiannual basis.
On Tuesday, News Corp. said it posted a fiscal second-quarter profit after enduring a loss in the year-earlier period. The company showed revenue growth across all its operating divisions except for the business that runs the popular MySpace social network.
The media sector isn't exactly laden with high yielders, but it is worth noting that Time Warner offers a superior payout and yield to News Corp. and Wal Disney (NYSE: DIS), which only yields 1.2%.