Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, January 19, 2018

Article Excerpt

WAL-MART STORES INC. $104.59, New York symbol WMT, is the world’s biggest retailer, with 11,695 outlets in 28 countries. With the April 2017 payment, Wal-Mart raised its dividend by 2.0%. The new annual rate of $2.04 a share yields 2.0%. It has now increased that yearly rate annually for the past 44 years. In response to the U.S. tax reforms, which cut the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, the company plans to increase the starting wage for its U.S. workers to $11.00 an hour. It will also pay a one-time cash bonus of up to $1,000 to many of its workers. In addition, Wal-Mart enhance other employee benefits such as paid parental leave. The higher wages and benefits will increase the retailer’s costs in the fiscal year ending January 31, 2019, by $300 million. As well, the one-time bonus payments will total $400 million. To put those amounts in context, the company earned $1.7 billion, or $0.58 a share, in…