: Applied Materials hikes dividend by 23%, boosts buyback program by $10 billion

Applied Materials Inc. AMAT is boosting its dividend by 23% percent, the chip-equipment company announced Monday morning. The company’s quarterly dividend is going up to 32 cents a share from 26 cents a share previously. It will be payable on June 15 to shareholders of record as of May 25. Additionally, Applied Materials announced that its board of directors has approved $10 billion in additional stock buybacks. This “supplements” the company’s previous repurchase authorization, which had $4.7 billion remaining as of the end of Applied Materials’ fiscal first quarter. “The dividend increase, our largest in five years, and the new share repurchase authorization reflect our positive long-term view of the semiconductor market and our confidence in Applied’s outsized growth opportunities driven by our technology leadership, broad portfolio of differentiated products and strong customer engagements,” Chief Executive Gary Dickerson said in a release. Shares of Applied Materials were up about 1% in premarket trading Monday.

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