Shares of CBS stock are finally ticking up in after-market trading, following a CBS board of directors announcement that Les Moonves will remain in charge while independent counsel investigates sexual harassment accusations against the CEO. That news broke minutes ahead of the U.S. stock markets closing from their regular trading day on Monday.
At the time this story was first published, CBS stock was trading up 52 cents per share in after-market activity. That’s just about 1.01 percent better than the 4 p.m. ET closing bell.
Below is a look at Monday’s up-to-the-minute trading. That gray line creeping up is the after-hours movement.
Below is the CBS board’s statement following its Monday meeting.
CBS Corporation announced today that its Board of Directors is in the process of selecting outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation. No other action was taken on this matter at today’s board meeting.
Additionally, the Board determined to postpone CBS Corporation’s 2018 annual meeting of stockholders that was previously scheduled to be held on August 10, 2018. The Board will determine a new record date for the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders and will publicly disclose the new date, time and location.
Additionally, the board approved an 18-cent-per-share quarterly dividend during the meeting.
The CBS board meeting was previously scheduled in advance of the company’s second-quarter 2018 earnings release on Thursday. After Ronan Farrow’s bombshell New Yorker piece laying out the allegations published on Friday, the board was forced to add another item to today’s agenda.
Since then, shares of CBS stock have sunk almost 11 percent overall:
The stock market will reopen Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. ET. CBS will reveal its Q2 financials after the market closes on Thursday.
In Farrow’s New Yorker story, six women accused Moonves of sexual harassment, with four of them accusing the CEO of forcibly touching or kissing them during business meetings, and two saying he physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers. All of the women, including actress and writer Illeana Douglas, told Farrow that they feared retaliation if they spoke out.
Thirty current and former employees of CBS told Farrow “that such behavior extended from Moonves to important parts of the corporation, including CBS News and ’60 Minutes,’” adding that 19 employees said former chairman of CBS News and current “60 Minutes” executive producer Jeff Fager allowed harassment within the network’s news arm.
“I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely,” Moonves said in a statement. “But I always understood and respected — and abided by the principle — that ‘no’ means ‘no,’ and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone’s career.