Brown-Forman Corp. increased the quarterly cash dividend on its Class A and Class B Common Stock by 5.1% to $0.166 per share from the prior quarter’s $0.158 per share, payable Jan. 2, 2029, on stock of record Dec. 6.
As a result, the indicated annual cash dividend will rise to 66.4 cents a share from 63.2 cents a share.
“Our 5.1% dividend increase marks the 35th consecutive year of dividend increases at Brown-Forman, and the 73rd year of paying quarterly dividends at the company,” Paul Varga, CEO, said.. “Returning cash to our shareholders has been an important contributor to our ability to generate great returns for our shareholders.”
Brown-Forman is a member of the prestigious Standard & Poor’s 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which is composed of companies that have increased their cash dividend every year for at least 25 years.
The company also announced that Lawson Whiting, who will succeed Varga as CEO on Jan. 1, 2019, has been elected to the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately.
As part of the CEO transition process, Paul Varga will remain on the board until the next annual meeting of shareholders on July 25, 2019, and that will mark the conclusion of the board’s multi-year succession plan and his almost 16 years of service on the board.