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Shares of Pfizer Inc. edged up 0.3% in midday trade Monday, after the drug giant said it authorized a new $10 billion share repurchase program, and that it will raise its quarterly cash dividend by 6.3%. Pfizer said the new buyback program is in addition to the $6.4 billion remaining under the current repurchase program. Based on current share prices and 5.96 billion shares outstanding, $16.4 billion would represent 439.7 million shares, or about 7.4% of the shares outstanding. The new dividend of 34 cents a share, up from 32 cents a share, will be payable March 1 to shareholders of record on Feb. 2. The new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 3.65%, compared with the implied yield for the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF of 1.45%, and for the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 2.07%. Pfizer’s stock has rallied 14.8% year to date, while the health care ETF has run up 21.9% and the Dow has climbed 25.7%.

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Shares of Pfizer Inc. edged up 0.3% in midday trade Monday, after the drug giant said it authorized a new $10 billion share repurchase program, and that it will raise its quarterly cash dividend by 6.3%. Pfizer said the new buyback program is in addition to the $6.4 billion remaining under the current repurchase program. Based on current share prices and 5.96 billion shares outstanding, $16.4 billion would represent 439.7 million shares, or about 7.4% of the shares outstanding. The new dividend of 34 cents a share, up from 32 cents a share, will be payable March 1 to shareholders of record on Feb. 2. The new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 3.65%, compared with the implied yield for the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF of 1.45%, and for the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 2.07%. Pfizer’s stock has rallied 14.8% year to date, while the health care ETF has run up 21.9% and the Dow has climbed 25.7%.

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An Amtrak train has derailed along Interstate 5 in Washington state, in Pierce County, near Tacoma. Part of the derailed train has fallen off a bridge onto the road below. Amtrak, in a tweet, said it is “aware of an incident involving Amtrak train 501” and will provide an update when more details are known. It was not immediately clear if the crash included injuries either to train passengers or in the cars below, but local media reported a major emergency response on the scene. The local sheriff’s office was reporting “multiple injuries and fatalities,” according to NBC.

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Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. climbed 0.7% in midday trade, putting them on track for the second-straight record close in the wake of fiscal first-quarter results, after BMO Capital upgraded the warehouse-club retailer, citing expectations that its online business was set to accelerate. Analyst Kelly Bania raised her rating to outperform, after downgrading it to market perform in July. She lifted her stock price target to $215 from $160, to tie for the highest target of the 30 analysts surveyed by FactSet. Bania said that Costco’s online business, which the company had previously been reluctant to deeply pursue, is still in the early stages, and could continue to support a strong same-store sales outlook and higher valuation as the company widens its competitive moat. She expects Costco to realize that customers that shop both online and in the stores spend more in total after becoming an online grocery customer, “which could also support a stronger outlook for Costco’s member renewal trends.” The stock has rallied 21% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has tacked on 2.6% and the S&P 500 has climbed 20%.

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President of Walt Disney Co.-owned ESPN, John Skipper, said on Monday that he is resigning from the network. “I have struggled for many years with a substance addiction. I have decided that the most important thing I can do right now is to take care of my problem,” Skipper said in a statement. “I have disclosed that decision to the company, and we mutually agreed that it was appropriate that I resign. As I deal with this issue and what it means to me and my family, I ask for appropriate privacy and a little understanding.” Skipper, 61, started at ESPN in 1997 as the company’s general manager of ESPN The Magazine. He was tapped to head the network in 2012. His resignation comes at a rocky time for ESPN as it struggles to contend with declining viewership, which have led to layoffs, and as it maneuvers covering sports in an intensified socially and politically-charged environment. George Bodenheimer, who was ESPN’s president before Skipper, will serve as the network’s acting chair for 90 days, as ESPN leadership looks for Skipper’s replacement. Shares of ESPN owner Disney have gained 7% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 20% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained nearly 25%

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Campbell Soup Co.’s credit rating was downgraded at S&P Global Ratings to BBB, which is just two notches above junk status, from BBB+, in the wake of the soup and snack company’s deal to buy Synder’s-Lance Inc. . The outlook for the rating is negative, which means it could be downgraded again over the next 12-to-24 months if there are “missteps” in the integration Synder’s-Lance or if a weak retail environment hurts profitability. Campbell’s stock rose 1.7% in morning trade. Campbell said it would finance the $4.87 billion acquisition with debt, and will suspend share repurchase so it has more resources to pay down debt. “We believe the proposed acquisition will substantially increase Campbell’s debt obligations and meaningfully weaken its credit protection measures,” S&P Global said in a statement. Campbell’s stock has shed 17% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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Time Warner Inc.-owned HBO officially announced on Monday that the head of its documentary and family programming, Sheila Nevis, is exiting the premium cable network to “pursue the rest of my life.” Nevins will leave the network early next year, HBO said in a statement. HBO is one of Time Warner’s most profitable assets. Last year the network contributed $5.9 billion to Time Warner’s overall revenue, while Warner Bros. film division brought in $5.6 billion and advertising from the company’s Turner TV business brought in $4.8 billion. In the 38 years in which Nevins served as president of HBO’s documentary programming, the network has won 32 primetime Emmys and 26 Oscars. “She has been an integral part of HBO’s extraordinary success,” said HBO Chief Executive Richard Plepler in a statement. “To say that we will miss her is insufficient.” According to Plepler, Nevins will continue to work with HBO on some documentary projects. In the year to date, shares of Time Warner have declined more than 6%, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 20% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up nearly 25%.

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Spirit Airlines Inc. said it plans to transfer the listing of its shares to the New York Stock Exchange from the Nasdaq Global Select Market, starting Dec. 28. The ticker symbol will remain “SAVE” after the transfer. The air carrier said it determined that the transfer would be in the “best interest” of its shareholders. Spirit’s stock rose 2.2% in morning trade. It has slumped 24% year to date, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has gained 5.0% and the S&P 500 has climbed 20%.

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Strongbridge Biopharma shares rose 3.3% in morning trade Monday after a Washington Post report highlighted price increases taken on its drug Keveyis, bringing it to between $109,500-a-year and $219,000-a-year. Though the drug’s previous owner, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. , previously said it would give the drug away for free, Sun sold it to Strongbridge late last year and Strongbridge raised the price when it re-launched the drug in April 2017, according to the report. Because of the drug, Strongbridge revenue came to $4.1 million in the nine months ending in September 30, according to the company’s most recent financial results, and net product sales came to $2.5 million in the third quarter, which the company said was a 67% revenue growth increase over the previous quarter. Strongbridge said it also plans to invest further in the drug, including expanding its sales force and launching a generic testing program. The company declined to explain why it had increased the price to the Washington Post, saying that Keveyis — which is approved for a condition called periodic paralysis — affected very few people and could benefit them, the report said. Patients are concerned about the increasing price even as they are glad the drug is available in the U.S. and as they, in many cases, benefit from various services offered by the company, according to the report. Strongbridge shares have dropped 12% over the last three months, compared with a 7.6% rise in the S&P 500 and a 10.4% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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