Meredith Corporation Increases Quarterly Dividend $MDP

• Meredith (NYSE:MDP) declares $0.575/share quarterly dividend, 5.5% increase from prior dividend of $0.545.
• Forward yield 4.3%
• Payable March 15; for shareholders of record Feb. 28; ex-div Feb. 27.

The Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP) Board of Directors on February 2, 2019, approved a 5.5 percent increase in its regular stock dividend to $2.30 per share on an annualized basis, an increase of $0.12 per share. The next quarterly dividend will be $0.575 and is payable on March 15, 2019, to shareholders of record on February 28, 2019.

Meredith has a strong history of returning cash to shareholders, paying a dividend for 72 consecutive years and increasing its dividend for 26 years straight. The new and higher annual dividend yields 4.3 percent, based on February 1st's closing price of $53.43. Since launching its Total Shareholder Return (TSR) strategy in October 2011, Meredith has increased its dividend $1.28, a 127 percent increase. Additionally, Meredith has delivered an average annual return of 15 percent over the same time period.  

Separately, Meredith announced it has repaid $700 million of its debt so far in fiscal 2019 through January 31, 2019, including $573 million of its 7-year Senior Secured Term Loan B and $127 million of its senior unsecured notes. The company continues to expect to achieve its goal to reduce debt by $1 billion in fiscal 2019. Meredith's total outstanding debt stood at $2.5 billion at January 31, 2019.

"We are proud to continue executing on our Total Shareholder Return strategy, which includes a long-term goal of consistent annual dividend growth along with a near-term goal to aggressively pay down debt and further strengthen Meredith's strong balance sheet," said President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Harty.

For more information, visit www.meredith.com

According to the list of U.S. Dividend Champions, Meredith Corporation is a Dividend Champions. MDP has a 25-year dividend raising streak.

Dividend Growth Rates
DGR	DGR	DGR	DGR
1-yr	3-yr	5-yr	10-yr
4.8	6.0	6.0	9.7

Dividend Yield Chart:

This is the historical trailing annual dividend yield of Meredith Corp. Buying stocks at higher yield relative its historical values is usually more profitable.

Payout Ratio:

This is the historical payout ratio of Meredith Corp. If payout ratio is close to or higher than 100%, dividends might not be sustainable.