Kraft Foods Declares Dividend, Approves $3 Bln Share Buyback

(RTTNews) - Packaged foods giant Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (KRFT) said Thursday that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share of common stock and also authorized a $3 billion stock repurchase program.

The regular quarterly dividend is payable on January 17, 2014 to shareholders of record on December 27, 2013.

Meanwhile, the stock repurchase program, Kraft Foods' first since it became an independent public company in October 2012, has no expiration date. The company said it is authorized to repurchase shares of common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.

In 2012, Northfield, Illinois-based Kraft Foods split from parent Kraft Foods Global Inc., with the international snacks unit named Mondelez International (MDLZ).

Tony Vernon, CEO of Kraft Foods said, "Today's announcement reflects our commitment to disciplined capital management and the desire to balance investments in our businesses to generate profitable growth while at the same time returning capital to shareholders. The stock repurchase program helps us deliver on that commitment while providing flexibility for the future."

In late October, Kraft Foods reported a 7 percent increase in profit for the third quarter from last year, as lower revenues were more than offset by cost savings and a one-time gain. The company also raised its earnings outlook for fiscal 2013.

KRFT closed Tuesday's trading at $52.44, down $0.40 or 0.77 percent on a volume of 2.79 million shares.