Wal-Mart raises annual dividend to $2.00 a share from $1.96

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it is raising its annual dividend to $2.00 a share from $1.96. The dividend will be paid in four quarterly installments of 50 cents a share. The first will be paid April 4 to shareholders of record as of March 11. Shares were trading down 4% in premarket trade, as the company also reported fourth-quarter earnings. Shares are down 23% in the last 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 8.7%.

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API says crude-oil inventories fell 3.3 million barrels: reports

The American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday said U.S. crude-oil inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels in the latest week, according to news reports. The data from API, an industry trade group, is watched for clues to weekly data from the Energy Information Administration due Thursday morning. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal produced an average forecast for a 3.1 million barrel rise in oil inventories.

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Marvell Tech shares rise on patent case settlement

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. shares rose in the extended session Wednesday after the semiconductor company said it had settled a patent infringement lawsuit with Carnegie Mellon University. Marvell shares, which had been halted after hours, rose 4.6% to $9.73. The company said it settled with Carnegie Mellon for $750 million with no ongoing royalty payments. Marvell noted the university had been awarded $1.54 billion back in 2012, and that as of Jan. 30, it had more than $2.3 billion in cash and short-term investments and $388 million in litigation reserves.

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Ingram Micro surges on sale to Chinese conglomerate

Ingram Micro Inc. , an information-technology company based in Irvine, Calif., with a market capitalization of $4.4 billion, will be sold to China’s Tianjin Tianhai Investment Co. for $38.90 a share, the company said late Wednesday. Once the $6 billion deal is finalized, Ingram Micro will operate as a subsidiary of Tianjin Tianhai and become a part of the HNA Group but maintain its headquarters in Irvine. The company’s executive management team will also be retained with Alain MoniĆ© continuing as chief executive. Shares of Ingram Micro soared 24% in after-hours trading on the news. The purchase price is roughly 31% over the stock’s closing price of $29.65 on Wednesday.

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NetApp shares decline on weak earnings outlook, layoffs

NetApp Inc. shares declined in the extended session Wednesday after the storage and data management company announced layoffs and forecast an earnings outlook that fell short of Wall Street estimates. NetApp shares declined 2.8% to $22.90. The company forecast adjusted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 55 cents to 66 cents a share on revenue of $1.35 billion to $1.5 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 72 cents a share on revenue of $1.45 billion. For the fiscal third quarter, NetApp reported adjusted earnings of 70 cents a share on revenue of $1.39 billion. Analysts had forecast 68 cents a share on revenue of $1.44 billion. In a separate filing, NetApp said it will cut its workforce by 12% by the end of 2017’s fiscal first quarter.

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