Best Buy Raises Dividend by 6%

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) lifted its quarterly cash dividend on Thursday by 6%, or one cent, to 17 cents a share, consistent with the dividend increase in each of the three prior years.

The new rate will be payable on Oct. 2 to shareholders of record on Sept. 11.

The announcement comes the same day of the consumer electronic retailer’s regular shareholder meeting at its corporate campus in Richfield, Minn.

Best Buy’s increase is a sign of confidence as the company struggles to disconnect itself from a series of missteps earlier this year that included the abrupt resignation of former chief executive Brian Dunn and the departure of founder and chairman Richard Schulze, and stem a decline in sales as competitors like Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) continue to gain market share.

The electronics chain suffered a 25% dive in first-quarter earnings last month on a slowdown in international sales. Same-store sales - a key growth metric for retailers that measures sales at stores open longer than a year - declined 5.3%.

The company is expected to unleash a series of strategic changes this year as part of a broader turnaround. Shares of Best Buy ticked about 1% higher Thursday morning.