Intel May Trim Cash By Raising Dividend
Posted on: Friday, 12 August 2005, 15:00 CDT
Intel Corp., the world's biggest computer-chip maker, may raise its dividend or buy back more shares because it has too much cash, Chief Financial Officer Andy Bryant said this week.
"I would like to see our cash a little lower," Bryant said in an interview with Citigroup analyst Glen Yeung on Tuesday that was made public Thursday on Intel's Web site. "We would like to see some continued growth in dividends, using buybacks as the balancer to get cash to the level you want."
Intel, which has about 350 workers in Riverton, doubled its quarterly dividend in November to 8 cents a share, the second time in a year the company had doubled its payout, and raised its stock buyback by $11.4 billion. Technology companies such as Intel and Microsoft Corp. are increasingly choosing to return some of their money to shareholders rather than use it for acquisitions.
"They're acknowledging it's a more mature company," said Daniel Morgan, who helps manage $5.45 billion, including Intel shares, at Synovus Investment Advisors in St. Petersburg, Fla. "If it goes a lot higher, it says they'd rather do this than invest in new markets."
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel shares fell 6 cents Thursday to $26.82 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. They have gained 15 percent this year, making them the fourth-best performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, last year said it would pay more than $75 billion to shareholders over four years, bowing to pressure from investors to pare its cash balances of $56.4 billion at the time.
Microsoft paid a one-time $32 billion dividend, doubled its annual dividend and said it would spend $30 billion buying back stock.
Intel's board will meet in the next few months to set a new cash and dividend policy, Bryant said. Intel has about $14.5 billion in cash and marketable securities.
Intel last year announced buybacks totaling $6.6 billion, or 263 million shares. That brought the total since 1990 to more than 2.1 billion shares costing $41 billion. Intel began paying a dividend in 1992.
Source: Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
Related Articles
- Northrop Grumman to Sell Its Advisory Services Division, TASC, Inc., for $1.65 Billion; Net Cash Proceeds to Fund Additional $1.1 Billion Share Repurchase
- XTO Energy Completes Bakken Shale Acquisition for $1.8 Billion in Cash and Stock; Agrees to Acquire Additional 100,000 Acres
- XTO Energy Announces Acquisition of Hunt Petroleum Corporation for $4.186 Billion in Cash and Stock
- XTO Energy Announces Bakken Shale Acquisition for $1.85 Billion in Cash and Stock
- Valero Energy Corporation Increases Dividend on Common Stock By 25%
- Celgene to Acquire Pharmion for $2.9 Billion in Cash and Stock
- Intel Raises Dividend, Boosts Buyback
- Intel Ups Dividend, Plans $25B Buyback
- Teva Acquiring Ivax for $7.4 Billion in Cash, Stock
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds