Shares of Philip Morris International Inc.
PM,
+0.94%
rose 0.6% in premarket trading Friday, after cigarette and tobacco company announced a new $7 billion stock repurchase program. The company said it targets spending $5 billion to $7 billion over the next three years as part of the program, and expects to start buying back start after the second-quarter earnings report, current projected for the second-half of July. Based on Thursday’s stock closing price of $97.55, the new buyback program could represent about 4.6% of the shares outstanding. The company also declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.20 a share, payable July 12 to shareholders of record on Jun 25. At Thursday’s stock closing price, the dividend yield was 4.92%, compared with the implied yield for the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.08%
of 1.39%, according to FactSet. “Our announcements today are further testament to our steadfast commitment to generously reward our shareholders as we transform into a smoke-free company,” said Chief Executive Jacek Olczak. The stock has rallied 36.9% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has advanced 41.2%.
