U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips (COP.N) raised its quarterly dividend 20 percent on Friday and said it would buy back $10 billion in shares of its stock, lifting its share price nearly 2 percent. Conoco is carrying out a two-year plan aimed at paring debt and increasing shareholder returns by buying back shares, increasing dividends and selling assets it considers no longer essential to its exploration business. Since the plan was announced in October 2009, the third-largest U.S. oil company's shares have risen 44 percent, far outperforming a 24 percent increase in the CBOE index of oil companies. .OIX
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