Philip Morris raises dividend to boost implied yield to 5.4%

Shares of Philip Morris International Inc.
PM,
-0.34%
tacked on 0.9% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the cigarette and heated-tobacco products company raised its quarterly dividend by 1.6%, to $1.27 a share from $1.25 a share. The new dividend will be payable Oct. 12 to shareholders of record on Sept. 28. Based on Tuesday’s stock closing price of $94.02, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 5.40%, which compares with the yield for the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF
XLP,
-0.04%
of 2.51% and the implied yield for the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.34%
of 1.68%. Philip Morris’ stock has gained 19.2% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.34%
has dropped 17.5%.