: BlackRock hikes dividend, increases stock buybacks

BlackRock Inc. BLK said Wednesday its board approved a 2.5% dividend hike and increased the firm’s share buyback authority. The company said it will pay a quarterly dividend of $5 a share on March 23 to shareholders of record as of March 7. The board also raised the company’s share buyback authority by 7 million shares for a total of 7.9 million shares. BlackRock shares were down 0.4% at $749.42 in recent trading, compared with a 0.3% decline in the S&P 500 index SPX .

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