Courtesy of Benzinga.
Yum! Brands(NYSE: YUM) Board of Directors authorized the Company to repurchase up to $1 billion in additional shares of common stock and declared a dividend of $0.335 per share of common stock. The quarterly dividend will be distributed February 1, 2013, to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 11, 2013.
The $1 billion in additional share repurchases of the Company’s outstanding common stock is authorized through May 31, 2014. Repurchases of common stock may be made from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions and will be subject to market conditions and other factors. Year-to-date, the Company has repurchased $815 million of shares of common stock at an average price of $66.
Yum!’s first priority with the operating cash it generates is to invest in high-return global growth opportunities. In addition, Yum! is committed to returning significant cash to shareholders. Over the past five years, the Company has returned $5.7 billion of cash through the combination of share repurchases and dividends.
