Pfizer Slashed Dividend By 50%
- April 23, 2009
- Dividend News, Dow Dividend Stocks, Featured, High Yield Dividend Stocks
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Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (PFE: 14.58 -1.55%) announced today that they are slashing their quarterly dividend by 50% to $.16 per share.
The dividend cut reduces Pfizer’s dividend yield from 9.8% to 4.9%.
The decision to reduce the company’s quarterly dividend was made in part to help finance the $62 billion acquisition of Wyeth (WYE: 50.39 0.00%). Reducing the dividend will save the company $4 - $5 billion.
The dividend will be payable June 2, 2009 to shareholders of record as of May 8, 2009. The dividend payment will mark the 282nd consecutive quarter that Pfizer has paid a cash dividend.
Not all Pfizer investor’s were happy about the dividend cut. Pfizer’s stock has badly underperformed the market in 2009, falling over 26% compared to the Dow Jones index’s modest 10% decline.
