Category: Stock Market News

McDonald’s Corp. said Thursday it raised its quarterly dividend by 6% to 94 cents a share from 89 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable Dec. 15 to shareholders for record Dec. 1. Based on Wednesday’s closing price for the fast-food giant’s stock of $115.18, the new annual dividend implies a dividend yield of 3.26%, compared with the aggregate dividend yield for the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 2.45%, according to FactSet. McDonald’s said 2016 is the final year of its three-year plan to return $30 billion to shareholders. Through August, the company had returned $26 billion to shareholders, and the new quarterly dividend represents a payout of about $800 million. The company expects to complete the return plan by the end of the year. The stock, which ticked up 0.1% in premarket trade, has lost 2.5% year to date, while the Dow has gained 5.3%.

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ConAgra shares rose 2% in Thursday premarket trading after the company swung to a first-quarter profit after a steep loss in the same period last year. The food company reported net income of $186.2 million, or 42 cents per share, versus a loss of $1.15 billion, or $2.68 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 61 cents per share, beating the 48 cents per share FactSet consensus. Sales for the quarter totaled $2.67 billion, down from $2.79 billion but exceeding the FactSet consensus of $2.73 billion. ConAgra will now report five segments – grocery and snacks, refrigerated and frozen, international, foodservice and commercial – in order to align with changes to the organization, the company said. The commercial segment, which mostly consists of the Lamb Weston potato products business, will be spun off later this year. Lamb Weston’s 4% growth was offset by the impact of divested businesses. Sales for all segments fell during the quarter. ConAgra shares are up 7.7% for the past year while the S&P 500 Index rose 15.3% for the same period.

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Amgen Inc. and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday they have agreed to two cardiovascular collaborations. Under one agreement, Amgen will receive an exclusive license option to Arrowhead’s proprietary subcutaneous RNAi delivery platform. RNAi molecules can be used to target and eliminated specific gene products that contribute to some diseases, the companies said in a statement. Under a second agreement, Agmen will have an option to a worldwide, exclusive license for a RNAi therapy for an undisclosed genetically validated cardiovascular target. “In both agreements, Amgen will be wholly responsible for clinical development and commercialization,” said the statement. Arrowhead will receive $56.5 million in upfront payments, an equity investment, royalties and up to $617 million more in potential milestone and equity payments. Arrowhead stock was halted premarket for the news, but has gained 14.5% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%. Amgen shares are up 4.6% in the same timeframe.

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Stein Mart Inc. said Chief Executive Dawn Robertson resigned, effective Sept. 27. Robertson was also the home decor and accessories retailer’s chief merchandising officer. Chief Operating Officer D. Hunt Hawkins was named interim CEO. Separately, the company said same-store sales for the fiscal third-quarter ending Oct. 29 have declined about 4% through Sept. 27. Sales are lower than anticipated, as some improvement in September followed a challenging start and several “missteps” in August, the company said. “We believe that several of the new merchandising strategies that have been developed this year will positively impact our future sales,” Hawkins said. “However, implementation has been too rapid and has been challenging for our customers.” The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has climbed 12% year to date, while SPDR S&P Retail ETF has ticked up 0.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.2%.

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Shares of Fitbit Inc. tumbled 5.7% in premarket trade, after the maker of fitness-tracking wristbands was downgraded at Pacific Crest, which cited signs that the company’s flagship holiday product was off to a slow start. Analyst Brad Erickson cut his rating to a rare underweight from sector weight. Through Wednesday, only two of the 187 technology companies covered by Pacific Crest were rated underweight. Erickson said he spoke to numerous big box retailers, and although he found “meaningful inventory accumulation,” run rates for the Charge 2 product are below that of Blaze and Alta products earlier this year, “which is a disappointing start, in or view.” He is also concerned about Fitbit’s core utility issue. “We continue to believe that a large portion of Fitbit owners stop using the device within months, which is a fundamental issue driving high churn and that will make growth more challenging,” Erickson wrote in a note to clients. The stock had plunged 44% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 had gained 6.2%.

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Accenture PLC reported Thursday net earnings for the fiscal fourth-quarter ending Aug. 31 that rose to $1.12 billion, or $1.68 a share, from $778.6 million, or $1.15 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share were $1.31, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.30. Total revenue increased to $8.97 billion from $8.36 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $8.92 billion, while sales before reimbursements grew to $8.49 billion from $7.89 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $8.44 billion. Looking ahead, the consulting firm expects fiscal first-quarter net revenue of $8.40 billion to $8.65 billion. The FactSet consensus for net sales of $8.58 billion. Separately, Accenture raised its semi-annual dividend by 10% to $1.21, for shareholders of record on Oct. 21. The stock, which eased 0.6% in premarket trade, has run up 12% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.2%.

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Philip Morris International Inc. on Thursday lifted and narrowed its outlook for 2016 earnings at a two-day investor meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. The cigarette maker narrowed its forecasts to include the impact of currency moves, projecting 2016 full-year reported diluted earnings per share in a range of $4.53 to $4.58 from a previous range of $4.45 to $4.55. Shares were unchanged in early premarket trading.

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Hackers have been targeting voter registration systems in several U.S. states, according to news reports Wednesday citing FBI Director James Comey. In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Comey said that voter registration sites in more than a dozen states have been subjected to “a variety of scanning activities…as well as some attempted intrusions,” both CNN and ABC News reported. In another testimony before Congress, Princeton University professor Andrew Appel told a House Oversight IT subcommittee that it was possible for hackers to affect the outcome of a national election, according to a report from Politico.

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Transocean Ltd. shares slipped in the extended session Wednesday after billionaire investor Carl Icahn cut his stake in the offshore drilling company. Transocean shares declined 0.4% to $9.98 after hours. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Icahn reported he held a 1.5% stake in Transocean, or just under 5.5 million shares. In an August filing, Icahn reported owning about 21.5 million shares of Transocean.

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Shares of Pier 1 Inc. soared in Wednesday’s extended session after the retailer posted a quarterly loss that was smaller than projected. Pier 1 reported it swung to a second-quarter loss of $4.01 million, or 5 cents a share, from a profit of $3.2 million, or 4 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue fell 6.7% to $405.8 million while same-store sales shrank 4.3%. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of 6 cents a share on revenue of $406 million. For the third quarter, the company projected a sales decline of 2% to 4% and adjusted earnings per share of 9 cents to 15 cents. Pier 1 shares gained 3% after hours.

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