(Reuters) - Discount retailer Target Corp (TGT.N) raised its quarterly dividend by 47 percent to 25 cents a share on Wednesday 9 June, sending its shares up 1.5 percent.

Target - Photo : AFP

The dividend will be the company's 171st consecutive payout since it went public in 1967.

It will be paid on September 10 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 20.

Public companies use dividends to distribute a portion of profits to shareholders. Mature companies are most likely to offer dividends, since younger, fast-growing companies tend to use business proceeds to expand.

Many companies ranging from Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (DPS.N) to high-end jeweler Tiffany & Co (TIF.N) and Home Depot Inc (HD.N) notably raised their dividends this year.

Target shares were up 1.5 percent at $53.21 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday (9 June) afternoon.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan, editing by Matthew Lewis)