Avnet (AVT) will raise its quarterly dividend by 5.9 percent to $0.18 per share. The next dividend will be paid on March 28, 2017, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 14, 2017.

“The expansion of our share repurchase program and dividend increase highlight Avnet’s commitment to creating value for investors. Taken together, these programs have returned approximately $1.4 billion to shareholders over the past six years,” said William Amelio, Avnet’s Chief Executive Officer. Amelio continued, “With the sale of the Technology Solutions business this week, Avnet is now solely focused on supporting our electronic components and integrated and embedded solutions customers at every stage of the product lifecycle. The approximately $2 billion of after-tax proceeds from the sale will allow us to strengthen our balance sheet and return a meaningful amount of cash to our shareholders, while maintaining ample liquidity to fund future growth. We will use approximately $1.5 billion of the proceeds to pay down debt, and we are confident that as a result our credit statistics will solidly support our investment grade credit rating.”

Avnet, Inc. is a technology solutions company. Avnet's two primary operating groups are Electronic Components (EC) and Farnell. Both have operations in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia/Pacific. Electronic Components markets, sells and distributes electronic components including semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical components and other integrated components. EC serves a variety of markets ranging from automotive to medical to defense and aerospace. Farnell distributes kits, tools, electronic components and industrial automation components, as well as test and measurement products to both engineers and entrepreneurs. Avnet was founded in 1921 and incorporated in New York in 1955.