Target Corp. is increasing its dividend by 7.7 percent and doubling its share buyback program from $5 billion to $10 billion. The quarterly dividend will rise to 56 cents per share, up from 52 cents.
"Given our outlook for capital expenditures and the strong cash generation of our core business, we expect to have the capacity to increase our annual dividend and repurchase billions of dollars of Target shares annually while maintaining our current credit ratings," Target Chief Financial Officer John Mulligan said in a statement.
The company announced the moves Tuesday night after prematurely posting them during trading hours earlier in the day.
The Minneapolis-based retailer posted the news to its website before the dividend boost and share buybacks were approved by its board. Once the mistake was caught, the release quickly came down.
A person familiar with the matter said that the error was made by a vendor. Target's annual shareholders meeting is Wednesday in San Francisco.
Kavita Kumar • 612-673-4113
