Dow Chemical (DOW, Financial) announced a dividend of 46 cents per share on May 11.
The dividend has an ex-dividend date of June 28 and a payable date of July 28. The stock’s forward dividend yield is now 2.95%. The recent dividend is the company’s 423rd consecutive cash dividend and the company has held the dividend steady at 46 cents, last increasing from 42 cents in December 2015.
Dow Chemical and DuPont (DD, Financial) continue to proceed with their merger plans announced on Dec. 11, 2015. The companies have been gaining regulatory approval globally with the latest approval negotiations occurring in China. Recent news has reported that the two companies plan to review their breakup plan after the merger. Their original plan following the merger was to divide the company into three parts: agriculture, materials and material sciences and specialty products.
Both companies have been reporting steady gains in value and earnings. In Dow Chemical’s most recent first quarter earnings on April 27, the firm reported revenue of $11.94 billion, an increase of 11.6% from the comparable quarter. Earnings per share were $1.04, an increase of 17% from the comparable quarter.
In DuPont’s first quarter earnings announced on April 25, the company reported revenue of $7.74 billion, an increase of 4.5% from the comparable quarter. Earnings per share for the quarter were $1.64, increasing 30% from the comparable quarter.
Dow Chemical has gained 17.07% since the merger announcement, trading at $62.40. DuPont has gained 17.26%, trading at $79.46.
Top shareholders for Dow Chemical include Vanguard with 6.23% and State Street with 4.06%. Top shareholders for DuPont include Capital World Investors with 10.48% and Vanguard with 6.82%.
Disclosure: I do not own any shares of Dow Chemical or DuPont.
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