IBM raises quarterly dividend by 18 percent to $1.30

IBM said Tuesday it is raising its quarterly dividend to $1.30 from $1.10, an increase of 18 percent.

The company's next dividend is payable June 10 to shareholders of record on May 8.

It's the 20th straight year the technology company has increased its payout.

International Business Machines Corp.'s revenue has declined over the last three years as business customers buy fewer big computers and less traditional software. The company said in February that its plan to shift away from hardware and into areas like "cloud" software, data analytics and artificial intelligence programs, mobile service and security is on track. It wants those new businesses to bring in 40 percent of its revenue in the next four years and plans to invest billions to strengthen those divisions.

In January IBM's fiscal-year outlook disappointed investors.

Shares of the Armonk, New York-based company rose $3.40, or, 2 percent, to $174.13 in afternoon trading. The stock is down 10 percent in the past year.

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