Northrop Grumman [NOC] on Tuesday said it would increase its quarterly dividend to 90 cents per share, a nearly 13 percent hike over the current 80 cents per share payment and the 13th straight year the company has boosted its dividend.
“Today’s dividend increase demonstrates our commitment to maintaining a competitive dividend as a core element of our capital deployment strategy,” Wes Bush, chairman, president and CEO of Northrop Grumman, said in a statement.
Northrop Grumman’s top priority for its cash flow is investing its businesses to position them for the future, Bush said on the company’s first quarter earnings call in April.
In the quarter, the company spent $282 million buying back 1.5 million shares of its common stock and said it has about $4 billion remaining on its share repurchase authorization. Northrop Grumman spent $159 million on dividend payments in the first quarter.
Separately, on Wednesday Northrop Grumman said that Warren King, the retired chief executive of the Australian Defence Materiel Organization, has joined the company’s international advisory board, which advises the company’s Corporate Policy Council on market dynamics, development strategies, international engagement in local markets and other related aspects of international business.