NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- GE announced Friday it will raise the quarterly dividend by 20% and will resume its share buyback program at the end of the quarter.
The Fairfield, Conn.-based company will pay a dividend of 12 cents per share, up from 10 cents, on Oct. 25 to investors on record when the market closes Sept. 20.
The board also said it will extend the company's $15 billion share repurchase program through 2013. The plan, which was originally set to expire at the end of the year but was suspended in 2008, has $11.6 billion in remaining authorization.
"We are able to restore the GE dividend at a historical payout level for 2010, earlier than previously anticipated," said GE chief executive Jeff Immelt, "and to extend our share buyback program because of continued strong cash generation, recovery at GE Capital and solid underlying performance in our industrial businesses through the first half of 2010."
Last week, GE reported quarterly earnings that jumped 16% from a year earlier to $3.1 billion, as its finance arm GE Capital showed signs of stabilization.
Shares of GE (GE, Fortune 500) were up 3.4% in afternoon trading. 
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| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
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| Bank of America Corp... | 13.27 | 0.06 | 0.45% |
| Microsoft Corp | 34.98 | -0.02 | -0.06% |
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