KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a 15 percent increase to the company’s quarterly dividend, raising it to $0.55 per share from $0.48 per share of the company’s outstanding common stock. Payment will be made on Jan. 8, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 17, 2018. The Board also authorized an additional $10 billion of treasury stock purchases with no time limit for completion. The company has entered into a $5 billion accelerated share repurchase program under its expanded authorization.
“Increasing the dividend and authorizing additional opportunistic share repurchases are driven by our commitment to a balanced capital allocation strategy and supported by our strong balance sheet and cash flow generation that provide us the flexibility to return cash to shareholders while also investing in our pipeline, innovation and growth,” said Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck, “Even with these actions, we will continue to maintain ample capacity for business development, which remains a priority.”
Merck last announced a dividend increase in November 2017, when the Board increased the dividend from $0.47 to $0.48 per common share.
About Merck
For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. Today, Merck continues to be at the forefront of research to advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and communities around the world - including cancer, cardio-metabolic diseases, emerging animal diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and infectious diseases including HIV and Ebola. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
