Investing.com -- Shares in Nike Inc (N:NKE) surged more than 3% in after-hours trading after the multinational sports apparel giant announced a four-year, $12 billion share repurchasing program on Thursday afternoon, as the company winds down one of its most productive years in its short history.
The comprehensive stock buyback plan, according to Nike, will commence upon the completion of its current $8 billion repurchasing program that is slated to end before the completion of Fiscal Year 2016.
“In a growing sports industry, NIKE is the clear leader,” said Mark Parker, President and CEO of NIKE, Inc. “We are built for growth, while also staying committed to creating shareholder value over the long term. We’ve proven it time and again, having returned over $23 billion to shareholders over the last 14 years through share repurchases and dividends. Moving forward, we see even greater potential for NIKE as we continue to unlock new markets, new experiences and new products.”
In addition, Nike's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 0.32 on its Class A and Class B common stock payable on January 4. The dividend is a 14% increase from the company's previous quarterly rate and marks the 14th straight year in which Nike has increased its annual dividend. As of Nov. 16, Nike had roughly 678 million outstanding Class B common shares.
Nike's board also approved a two-for-one split of its Class A and B shares to shareholders of record on Dec. 9. The stock is scheduled to trade at its split-adjusted price on Dec. 24.
Last month, Nike announced a target of $50 billion in revenues by the end of Fiscal Year 2020. In September, Nike reported sales of $8.4 billion in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2016, up 14% excluding the negative impacts of foreign exchange translation. At the same time, Nike's diluted earnings per share jumped 23% amid significant gross margin expansion and a lower effective tax rate.
Shares in Nike surged 4.20 or 3.34% to 130.00, slightly below October's all-time record high of 133.21. Over the last year, Nike shares are up by more than 33%.