The Amcor Limited (ASX: AMC) share price could climb in early trade after the company announced a pro-rata FY19 final dividend of 12.0 US cents per share (cps) this morning.
What did Amcor announce this morning?
The Amcor Board announced the pro-rata dividend of 12.0 US cps to cover the March 2019 quarter, with the New Amcor to declare an inaugural quarterly dividend for the June 2019 quarter at a date to be determined, after the completion of its planned merger with Bemis Company, Inc.
As previously announced, the Bemis transaction is expected to complete on 15 May 2019.
This morning's final dividend announcement follows a 17 April 2019 announcement by Bemis regarding a normal quarterly cash dividend to be paid to Bemis shareholders and aligns the periods over which dividends have been paid to both Amcor and Bemis shareholders prior to their merging.
The pro-rata dividend will be unfranked and paid in Australian dollars at 16.8 AUD cps at an average exchange rate of 0.7132 per USD.
Amcor shares will begin trading ex-dividend on 26 April 2019, with a record date and payment date of 29 April and 13 May, respectively.
Management also announced that the company's dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) would be suspended in relation to the payment of this pro-rata FY19 final dividend.
How have Amcor shares performed recently?
The Amcor share price has rocketed higher so far this year and is currently trading just shy of its 52-week high of $15.58 per share.
The packaging company's share price has outperformed fellow ASX packaging group Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) and Pact Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: PGH) which are both in the red so far this year.
I'm personally not too bullish on manufacturing or packaging firms over a 5-10 year investment horizon, and I'd be looking at some of the hot tech stocks such as Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) instead.
For those who want to look for growth outside of this sector, this top-rated stock could boost portfolio gains as it continues to soar in a $22 billion industry.
