Wall Street held on to its morning gains on reports of strong earnings from corporates, including McDonald's and Sara Lee. However, the Chinese interest rate hike to control inflation kept the market in check, while energy stocks suffered.
Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE: CHD) has doubled its quarterly dividend to $0.34 per common share from $0.17 per common share for the first quarter of FY 2011, payable on March 1, 2011 to shareholders of record as of February 18, 2011. The stock lost 1.65 percent to $68.69 on Tuesday.
Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) said that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend to holders of its Class A common stock and Class B common stock. The cash dividend of 15 cents per share will be paid on May 9, 2011 to holders of record of its Class A common stock and Class B common stock as of April 8, 2011. The stock is trading lower by 0.35 percent to $249.11 on Tuesday.
Beckman Coulter Inc. (NYSE: BEC) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per common share, payable on March 13, 2011 to all shareholders of record on March 3, 2011. The company's stock is trading higher by 0.13 percent to $82.76.
The board of directors of SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) declared a regular cash dividend of $0.01 per share. The dividend is payable on March 15, 2011, to shareholders of record on February 28, 2011. The stock gained 0.60 percent to $32.05 on Tuesday.
Automatic Data Processing Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ADP) board of directors declared a regular cash dividend of $0.36 per share payable on April 1, 2011 to shareholders of record on March 11, 2011. The stock slipped 0.63 percent to $49.18.
Hong Kong-based Highway Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: HIHO) declared its quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share on its common stock. The stock is trading at $3.37, up 0.30 percent.