: Wabtec boosts dividend by 13%, share repurchase program to $750 million

Wabtec WAB, or Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp., said Tuesday it raised its quarterly dividend by 13%, to 17 cents a share from 15 cents. Shareholders of record on Feb. 24 will be paid the new dividend on March 10. The maker of locomotives and passenger transit vehicle components said it increased its share repurchase authorization to $750 million, which represents about 4.0% of the company’s current market capitalization of $18.86 billion. The stock slipped 0.3% in morning trading. Based on current prices, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 0.66%, which compares with the implied dividend yield for the S&P 500 SPX of 1.65%. Wabtec’s stock has gained 4.1% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has advanced 4.3%.

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