BlackRock Raises Quarterly Dividend by 9.1%, Expands Buybacks

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- BlackRock Inc., the world’s biggest money manager, raised its quarterly dividend 9.1 percent to $1.50 a share.

The dividend is payable March 23 to shareholders of record as of March 7, the New York-based company said today in a statement. BlackRock said also that it expanded its share repurchase program to buy back as many as 5 million shares of common stock.

Chief Executive Officer Laurence D. Fink said in January that the firm would deploy its “enormous, large free cash flow” to boost the dividend payout and fund stock buybacks. BlackRock generated an operating cash flow of $2.7 billion in 2011, the firm said last month.

BlackRock manages $3.3 trillion in mutual funds, institutional accounts and exchange-traded funds. A year ago, the firm raised its dividend by 38 percent to $1.375 a share.

--Editors: Steven Crabill, Josh Friedman

To contact the reporter on this story: Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam in Boston at sbhaktavatsa@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net