Wells Fargo boosts dividend by 5%

Wells Fargo & Co. said Tuesday it will raise its quarterly dividend by 5%, as part of its 2018 capital plan which received a "non-objection" from the Federal Reserve. The new dividend of 45 cents a share, up from 43 cents a share, will be payable March 1 to shareholders of record on Feb. 1. The stock was little changed in afternoon trade, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF slumped 1.3%. At current prices, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 3.60%, compared the implied yields for the financial ETF (XLF) of 1.93% and for the S&P 500 of 2.12%, according to FactSet. Wells' stock has declined 22.7% over the past 12 months, while the XLF has shed 13.8% and the S&P 500 has declined 7.2%.

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