Target doubles share buyback to $10B; dividend up 7.7 pct.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Target is doubling its share buyback program to $10 billion and boosting its quarterly dividend by 7.7 percent.

The announcement comes after the company inadvertently said on its website Tuesday that it was taking those actions, but that was before the decisions had been affirmed by the board.

Information about the buyback and dividend vanished from the Target website after about 20 minutes.

Target blamed human error.

The stock repurchase authorization will increase to $10 billion from $5 billion, the Minneapolis company said late Tuesday.

The dividend will rise to 56 cents per share from 52 cents, and will be paid on Sept. 10 to shareholders of record on Aug. 19.

Shares of Target Corp. are up slightly before the opening bell