Seagate Technology Announces Dividend Increase and New $2.5 Billion Share Repurchase Authorization
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.-February 4, 2008-Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved an increase in…
IT blog news, gadget, press release and technical post.
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business (called retained earnings), or it can be distributed to shareholders. There are two ways to distribute cash to shareholders: share repurchases or dividends. Many corporations retain a portion of their earnings and pay the remainder as a dividend.
A dividend is allocated as a fixed amount per share. Therefore, a shareholder receives a dividend in proportion to their shareholding. For the joint stock company, paying dividends is not an expense; rather, it is the division of after tax profits among shareholders. Retained earnings (profits that have not been distributed as dividends) are shown in the shareholder equity section in the company’s balance sheet – the same as its issued share capital. Public companies usually pay…
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.-February 4, 2008-Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved an increase in…