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Target Said to Have Posted Dividend Announcement by Mistake

By Steve Wynne-Jones
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Target Said to Have Posted Dividend Announcement by Mistake

Target posted a statement announcing a dividend increase by accident and hasn’t made a decision on the matter yet, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

The company’s board is meeting Tuesday night and isn’t yet ready to say whether it will boost the dividend, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. A statement announcing an increase appeared on Target’s website and then disappeared shortly thereafter, befuddling investors who sent the stock up on the news.

The company was working through different scenarios for the outcome of the board meeting, the person said. One of those contingencies was posted on the site mistakenly, according to the person.

The document wasn’t published through Business Wire, which is how Target usually distributes financial information. There also wasn’t a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The unintentional announcement, which also said the company was boosting its stock buyback plan, was posted to Target’s site at about 3:11 p.m. New York time. Fewer than 25 minutes later, it was gone. Target said in an e-mailed statement that no information has been officially released on the dividend.

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The statement posted to Target’s site said the company was raising its quarterly dividend to 56 cents a share, in line with what analysts were estimating. It said the retailer’s stock buyback plan would increase to $10 billion, from $5 billion.

Bloomberg News, edited by ESM

 

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