On January 29, 2014, The Dow Chemical Company announced that its Board of Directors has declared a 15 percent increase in the first quarter dividend, from $0.32 per share to $0.37 per share. The Company also announced that it has expanded its authorized share buy-back program to $4.5 billion from $1.5 billion of common stock to be completed in 2014. Further, the Company stated that the increase to Dow's dividend and expansion of its stock repurchase objectives represent the latest in a series of strategic actions aligned to the Company's previously-communicated plans to consistently and increasingly remunerate shareholders through ongoing earnings growth.