- This topic has 0 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 9 years, 9 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/22/news/companies/microsoft/?postversion=2008092209
Microsoft, HP announce stock buybacks
Microsoft
board approves plan for another $40 billion in share repurchase and
raised its quarterly dividend by 18%; HP approves $8 billion stock
repurchase.
NEW YORK–
Microsoft announced Monday that it was planning to buy back an
additional $40 billion worth of shares and fellow tech giant HP
followed with a proposal to repurchase $8 billion worth of stock.Microsoft
said its board of directors approved the $40 billion buyback plan,
after having just completed its previous $40 billion stock repurchase
program.Also, Microsoft hiked its quarterly dividend by 18% to 13 cents
per share, which translates into a 2-cent-per-share increase over the
prior quarter. Based on this increased quarterly payout, Microsoft’s
stock now has a dividend yield of about 2.1%.Microsoft stock rose about 4% at the start of trading.
Separately,
HP said its board of directors approved $8 billion worth of stock
repurchases. This is in addition to $1.6 billion worth of shares that
the company bought back in its fiscal third quarter.HP stock was flat at the open.
Art
Hogan, chief market strategist for the investment bank Jefferies, said
that any companies – and not just tech firms – with a lot of cash on
hand are likely to consider buying back shares to increase their own
value, given the recent turmoil on Wall Street.”I think we’re going to
see a lot of buybacks, not just in the tech sector, but with a lot of
other companies,” said Hogan.Investors usually cheer stock buybacks
because they reduce the number of shares a company has outstanding.
That tends to lead to an increase in earnings per share
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.