It took less than 24 hours for a top Canadian financial institution to reward shareholders after being unshackled by a regulator.
Manulife Financial announced early Friday morning that its board has approved a supplementary dividend of five cents per share to go with the quarterly payment of 28 cents per share that’s scheduled for Dec. 20. Taken together, the 33-cent quarterly payout will represent an 18 per cent increase from what investors were expecting.
Additionally, Manulife said it’s planning to repurchase up to 39 million of its common shares for cancellation, representing two per cent of its share base.
The moves come one day after the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions lifted its ban on share buybacks and dividend hikes by federally regulated financial institutions.
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