NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc, which
halved its industry-topping dividend in January to finance its
recent acquisition of Wyeth, boosted the dividend 12.5 percent
on Monday.
Shares of the world's largest drugmaker rose modestly after the dividend increase, which had been expected by many investors. The rise was within the 10 to 20 percent range some industry analysts had forecast.
Pfizer said its board of directors approved an 18 cent dividend for the first quarter of 2010, up from its current dividend of 16 cents on the company's common stock.
'The board has determined that a measured dividend increase can be supported at this time,' Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Kindler said in a release.
Pfizer, which completed its $67 billion purchase of Wyeth in mid-October, said the dividend boost reflected the company's confidence in its business and its ability to integrate Wyeth rapidly.
The increase will lift the yield on Pfizer's dividend to about the 4 percent range, from its current yield of about 3.6 percent -- making it more competitive with somewhat higher yields of rival U.S. drugmakers Merck & Co Inc, Eli Lilly and Co and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
Lilly, whose annual yield is about 5.5 percent, on Monday declared a first-quarter dividend of 49 cents per share, unchanged from the prior quarter.
Barclay's analyst Tony Butler, in an interview last week, said his main concern is not Pfizer's dividend -- but how well the company capitalizes on the Wyeth purchase and whether it can really reverse its earlier poor drug-development and earnings record.
'They're reorganizing the business to increase internal accountability and make people change habits of old. We don't know if that's going to bear fruit,' Butler said.
Pfizer shares closed up 10 cents, or 0.55 percent, at $18.40 on the New York Stock Exchange, in line with gains for other large drugmakers.
(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; editing by Andre Grenon and Matthew Lewis) Keywords: PFIZER/ (ransdell.pierson@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 646-223-6034; Reuters Messaging: ransdell.pierson.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Shares of the world's largest drugmaker rose modestly after the dividend increase, which had been expected by many investors. The rise was within the 10 to 20 percent range some industry analysts had forecast.
Pfizer said its board of directors approved an 18 cent dividend for the first quarter of 2010, up from its current dividend of 16 cents on the company's common stock.
'The board has determined that a measured dividend increase can be supported at this time,' Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Kindler said in a release.
Pfizer, which completed its $67 billion purchase of Wyeth in mid-October, said the dividend boost reflected the company's confidence in its business and its ability to integrate Wyeth rapidly.
The increase will lift the yield on Pfizer's dividend to about the 4 percent range, from its current yield of about 3.6 percent -- making it more competitive with somewhat higher yields of rival U.S. drugmakers Merck & Co Inc, Eli Lilly and Co and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
Lilly, whose annual yield is about 5.5 percent, on Monday declared a first-quarter dividend of 49 cents per share, unchanged from the prior quarter.
Barclay's analyst Tony Butler, in an interview last week, said his main concern is not Pfizer's dividend -- but how well the company capitalizes on the Wyeth purchase and whether it can really reverse its earlier poor drug-development and earnings record.
'They're reorganizing the business to increase internal accountability and make people change habits of old. We don't know if that's going to bear fruit,' Butler said.
Pfizer shares closed up 10 cents, or 0.55 percent, at $18.40 on the New York Stock Exchange, in line with gains for other large drugmakers.
(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; editing by Andre Grenon and Matthew Lewis) Keywords: PFIZER/ (ransdell.pierson@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 646-223-6034; Reuters Messaging: ransdell.pierson.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.