15 Companies Increasing Dividends

by Jim Woods | April 20, 2012 12:38 pm

Companies Increasing Dividends[1]Earnings season is in full swing, and we’ve already seen about 80% of the companies reporting so far besting estimates. The outstanding results also have translated into numerous companies increasing dividends. This week, we saw another bevy of big firms boosting payouts, including several natural gas partnerships, two insurance firms, an investment giant and a consumer products behemoth.

In all, 15 companies made it onto our Companies Increasing Dividends[2] list this week:

Risk management and insurance giant Aon (NYSE:AON[3]) moved to insure shareholder satisfaction, raising its quarterly payout 5% to 15.75 cents per share. The new dividend is payable May 15 to shareholders of record as of May 1. The new dividend yield, based on the April 19 closing price of $49.71 (the day the dividend was announced), is 1.27%. The company’s board also announced a new $5 billion share repurchase program.

Natural gas and crude oil partnership Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD[4]) turned up the heat on its quarterly distribution by 5% to 62.75 cents per unit. The new distribution will be paid May 9 to unitholders of record as of April 30. The new dividend yield, based on the April 13 closing price of $50.42, is 4.98%.

Premier investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS[5]) boosted its quarterly payout[6] 31.4% to 46 cents per share. The new dividend will be paid June 28 to shareholders of record as of May 31. The new dividend yield, based on the April 17 closing price of $116.86, is 1.57%.

Energy partnership Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE:KMP[7]) lifted its quarterly distribution 5% to $1.20 per unit. The new payout will be made May 15 to unitholders of record as of April 30. The new dividend yield, based on the April 18 closing price of $83.14, is 5.77%. Along with the L.P.’s distribution increase, parent firm Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI[8]) also raised its dividend. The new dividend of 32 cents per share represents a 10% increase over the previous payout. The new payout will be sent May 16 to shareholders of record as of April 30. The new dividend yield, based on the April 18 closing price of $37.25, is 3.44%.

Lodging REIT LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE:LHO[9]) booked a new dividend room rate for shareholders of 20 cents per share, a whopping 81.8% higher than the previous payout. The new payment will be made July 13 to shareholders of record as of June 29. The new dividend yield, based on the April 18 closing price of $27.74, is 2.88%.

Healthcare REIT Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE:OHI[10]) finances long-term care facilities, and this week it moved to facilitate shareholders with a bigger payout. The company raised its quarterly payout 2.4% to 42 cents per share. The new dividend is payable May 15 to shareholders of record as of April 30. The new dividend yield, based on the April 17 closing price of $21.32, is 7.88%.

Mega-sized natural gas partnership Oneok Partners L.P. (NYSE:OKS[11]) turned up the dial on its quarterly distribution by 4.1% to 63.5 cents per unit. The new payout will be delivered May 15 to unitholders of record as of April 30. The new dividend yield, based on the April 19 closing price of $55.11, is 4.61%.

Bank holding company People’s United Financial (NASDAQ:PBCT[12]) moved to provide shareholders with a little more bank, boosting the quarterly dividend 1.6% to 16 cents per share. The new dividend is payable May 15 to shareholders of record as of May 1. The new dividend yield, based on the April 19 closing price of $12.43, is 5.15%.

Coatings and specialty chemical firm PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG[13]) resurfaced its dividend, increasing its payout 3.5% to 59 cents per share. The new payout will be made June 12 to shareholders of record as of May 10. The new dividend yield, based on the April 19 closing price of $101., is 2.34%.

Consumer products giant and poster child for defensive stocks Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG[14]) posted up a 7% boost in its quarterly payout to 56.2 cents per share. The increased dividend will be paid on May 15 to shareholders of record as of April 27. The new dividend yield, based on the April 13 closing price of $65.81, is 3.42%. This is the 56th consecutive year that P&G has hiked its quarterly dividend.

Communications and aviation electronics maker Rockwell Collins (NYSE:COL[15]) announced a big “10-4” to shareholders, increasing the bandwidth on its quarterly dividend by 25% to 30 cents per share. The new dividend is payable June 4 to shareholders of record as of May 14. The new dividend yield, based on the April 18 closing price of $58.66, is 2.05%.

Consumer products packaging maker Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON[16]) put a pretty new wrapper on its quarterly payout, repackaging its dividend 3.4% to 30 cents per share. The new dividend will be paid on June 8 to shareholders of record as of May 18. The new dividend yield, based on the April 18 closing price of $32.46, is 3.70%.

Natural gas transportation firm Spectra Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE:SEP[17]) raised its distribution to unitholders just over 1% to 48 cents per unit. The new distribution is payable on May 15 to unitholders of record as of May 4. The new dividend yield, based on the April 19 closing price of $31.55, is 6.09%.

Property and casualty insurance provider Travelers (NYSE:TRV[18]) boosted the premium it pays shareholders by 12% to 46 cents per share. The new dividend will be paid on June 29 to shareholders of record as of June 8. The new dividend yield, based on the April 19 closing price of $61.70, is 2.98%. Travelers also said it spent $350 million to buy back 6 million shares in the quarter.

As of this writing, Jim Woods did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. For more payout winners, see previous weeks’ lists of Companies Increasing Dividends[2].

Dividend Stocks[19]

Endnotes:

  1. [Image]: https://investorplace.com/hot-topics/companies-increasing-dividends/
  2. Companies Increasing Dividends: https://investorplace.com/hot-topics/companies-increasing-dividends/%20
  3. AON: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AON
  4. EPD: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=EPD
  5. GS: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=GS
  6. boosted its quarterly payout: https://investorplace.com/2012/04/goldman-profits-exceed-expectations-gs/
  7. KMP: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=KMP
  8. KMI: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=KMI
  9. LHO: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=LHO
  10. OHI: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=OHI
  11. OKS: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=OKS
  12. PBCT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=PBCT
  13. PPG: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=PPG
  14. PG: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=PG
  15. COL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=COL
  16. SON: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=SON
  17. SEP: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=SEP
  18. TRV: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=TRV
  19. Dividend Stocks: https://investorplace.com/stock-types/dividend-stocks/

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