Baxter International (BAX -0.22%) will likely improve the lives of its shareholders with its latest announcement. The company has declared a new dividend of $0.49 per share of its common stock. It will be distributed on July 1 to shareholders of record as of June 7. That amount is 9% higher than each of Baxter's previous three payouts of $0.45 per share, the most recent of which was disbursed in early April.
In the press release announcing the fresh distribution, the firm pointed out that by paying the new amount, it is maintaining its payout ratio of roughly 40%.
The just-declared dividend annualizes to $1.96 per share. That yields 2.8% at Baxter's current stock price of $70.31.
