MasterCard Doubles Dividend, Sets $2 Billion Buyback Plan
By Donal Griffin - Feb 5, 2013 8:15 AM ET
MasterCard Inc. (MA), the second-biggest U.S. payments network, doubled its quarterly dividend to 60 cents a share and approved a share-repurchase program of as much as $2 billion.
“Our strong financial performance allows us to increase the return of cash to shareholders,” Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga said today in a statement. “We remain focused on executing our strategy and growing our business.”
MasterCard posted fourth-quarter profit last week that beat analysts’ estimates as customers made more purchases. Banga, 53, is fending off competitors Visa Inc. and Shanghai-based China UnionPay as the company seeks a larger share of the electronic payments-processing market. Banga is targeting developing countries for growth amid a consumer shift from cash to plastic.
MasterCard, based in Purchase, New York, rose 1.3 percent to $521 at 8:04 a.m. in early trading in New York. The shares had gained 4.7 percent this year through yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Donal Griffin in New York at dgriffin10@bloomberg.net
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