Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (PFE +0.04%) announced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.24 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past two quarters after raising the payout 9% from $0.22 per share.
The board of directors said the quarterly dividend is payable on Sept. 4 to the holders of record at the close of business on Aug. 2. With the payment of this dividend, it will mark the 299th consecutive quarterly payout the pharmaceutical has made.
The board also announced a new $10 billion stock buyback program that will be in addition to the $3.9 billion remaining on the repurchase program already in existence.
The regular dividend payment equates to a $0.96-per-share annual dividend, yielding 3.4% based on the closing price of Pfizer's stock on June 27.
