Nike Boosts Dividend 8% (NKE)

Athletic apparel and footwear giant Nike (NYSE: NKE) will increase its quarterly dividend by 8% to 27 cents a share from 25 cents. The company has been raising its payout every year for the past 12 years.

The shares currently yield just 1.5%, but the payout ratio is low at 32% and as of the end of last year, Nike had $1.5 billion in free cash compared to just $545 million in debt.