WARSAW — Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc., a global leader in musculoskeletal healthcare, announced Wednesday, Feb. 24, its board of directors has approved payment of a quarterly cash dividend to stockholders for the first quarter, 2016.

The new payment represents an increase of 9.1 percent over the dividend declared for the first quarter of 2015. Additionally, Zimmer Biomet’s board of directors has authorized a new share repurchase program.

“We are pleased to renew our commitment to returning value to our stockholders through an increase in our quarterly dividend and our new share repurchase program. These decisions are reflective of the Company’s disciplined approach to capital allocation, a strategic component of our value creation framework,” said David Dvorak, Zimmer Biomet president and CEO.

The cash dividend of 24 cents per share will be paid on or about April 29, to stockholders of record as of the close of business March 31. Future declarations of dividends are subject to approval of the board of directors and may be adjusted as business needs or market conditions change.

The new share repurchase program authorizes purchases of up to $1.0 billion of the company’s common stock. The existing stock repurchase program approved by the board of directors in 2013 will expire Feb. 29.

Repurchases under the program may be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions from time to time in compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, depending on market conditions and other factors. The company had approximately 199 million shares of common stock outstanding as of Feb. 19.