CA Boosts Dividend, Accelerates Completion Of Share Buyback Program

CA Inc. announced plans to raise its dividend by 2% in fiscal 2017, said it has accelerated the completion of its previous stock buyback program and added a new $750 million program. The new dividend will be $1.02 a share, on an annual basis, up from $1 a share. The business software company said it has agreed to repurchase 22 million shares from Careal Holding AG, it's largest shareholder, for $590 million. The effective price of the buyback was $26.81 a share, which represents a 0.3% discount to Tuesday's closing price of $26.90. CA said that effectively completes its previous $1 billion buyback program. The company said it expects the accelerated buyback to increase earnings per share by 3 cents in fiscal 2016. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 12% year to date, while the S&P 500 has slipped 0.4%.