30 Blue Chips Increasing Dividends in Q1

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Companies Increasing DividendsDamn, it feels good to be an income investor.

While dividends are a slow-but-solid way to build wealth over time, dividend stocks have been a sensation ever since last year’s roller-coaster markets had investors grasping for their seat belts.

And 2012 couldn’t be any more welcoming for those converts. S&P Capital IQ projects that dividend payouts could hit a record-breaking $263 billion this year as companies look for productive ways to spend mounting cash hoards. And that’s with dividend-payout ratios at a miserly 27%, or around half the historical average of 50% — meaning there’s almost nowhere to go but up!

Well, if this quarter is any indication, things are right on schedule. Hundreds of companies announced boosts in their payouts this year, as we at InvestorPlace track in our weekly Companies Increasing Dividends feature.

Week after week this quarter, we saw 20, sometimes 25 companies announce dividend hikes — including some real heavy-hitters. One-fifth of the Dow Jones’ members increased their dividends, and five companies that cranked up the cash machine rank among Société Générale’s Top 40 Dividend Stocks in the World!

So without further adieu, here’s a look at 30 of the biggest names on Wall Street that will be giving a little more back to investors this year, including the new payout, the percentage increase, yield based on the end-of-quarter stock price, and payment and record dates:

3M (MMM)
New Payout % increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record date
$0.59/share 7% 2.65% March 12  Feb. 17

3M (NYSE:MMM) isn’t necessarily an income juggernaut, but it has been doling out dividends without interruption for almost a century, starting with its original 6-cent payout in 1916. And the most recent hike marked the 54th consecutive year that 3M has raised its dividend. In the past five years alone, the company has returned more than $7 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.51/share 6.25% 3.33% May 15 April 13
Allstate (ALL)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.22/share 4.8% 2.67% April 2 March 5
American Express (AXP)
new payout % increase Yield as of 3/30 payment date record date
$0.20/share 11% 1.38% May 10  April 5

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was among a number of financial institutions that hiked their dividend payouts after the results of the Fed’s “stress tests.” It was far from the only one, however.

Apache (APA)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.17/share 13% 0.68% May 22 April 23
Apple (AAPL)
New payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment date Record date
$2.65/share N/A 1.77% July 1*  TBD
* Expected sometime during Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter, which begins July 1

Well, we weren’t going to make you sweat forever. Yes, the long-rumored Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) dividend finally surfaced, followed by champagne-popping across the country. The quarterly dividend — Apple’s first since 1995 — was coupled with the announcement of a $10 billion share-buyback program to begin in 2013. The company will declare the official dividend dates in the next few months, but they’re expected to be sometime during the fiscal fourth quarter, which begins July 1.

BP (BP)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.48/share 14% 4.27% March 30 Feb. 17
Broadcom (BRCM)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.10/share 11% 1.02% March 5 Feb. 17
Cisco Systems (CSCO)
new payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.08/share 33% 1.51% April 25  April 5
Coca-Cola (KO)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.51/share 8.5% 2.76% April 1 March 15

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) is another longtime dividend payer. The company has doled out uninterrupted checks since 1893, and it has increased dividends every year for a half-century. And while he may not believe dividends are the best way to use Berkshire Hathaway‘s (NYSE:BRK.B, BRK.A) money, Warren Buffett — the world’s largest KO shareholder — must enjoy the income.

Colgate-Palmolive (CL)
new payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.62/share 7% 2.54% May 15  April 24
Comcast (CMCSA)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.16/share 44% 2.17% April 25 April 4
Deere & Co. (DE)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.46/share 12% 2.27% May 1 March 30
JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.30/share 20% 2.61% April 30 April 5

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) didn’t waste any time boosting its dividend after passing the Fed’s stress test, announcing its decision before trading even closed on March 13. This was the company’s second dividend hike following the financial crisis, though JPM’s payout still remains 8 cents per share lower than its pre-crisis dividend.

Kimberly-Clark (KMB)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.74/share 5.7% 4.01% April 3 March 9
Kinder Morgan (KMI)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.31/share 7% 3.21% Feb. 15 Jan. 31
Lorillard (LO)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$1.55/share 19% 4.79% March 9 March 1

American tobacco company Lorillard (NYSE:LO) kept up the industry’s strong track record of dividends when it increased its payout this year. Lorillard’s dividends have grown by over 50% since its original 92-cent payout in 2008, and the company yields a solid 4.75%.

Marathon Oil (MRO)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.17/share 13% 2.15% March 12 Feb. 16
MasterCard (MA)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.30/share 100% 0.29% May 9 April 9

MasterCard (NYSE:MA) shareholders got a pleasant surprise Feb. 7 when the company announced it was doubling its dividend, and the news sent MA shares to all-time highs above $390. (They’ve since climbed to around $425.) Still, despite the hike, MasterCard remains a virtual non-option for income investors at a paltry 0.3% yield.

Mosaic (MOS)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.50/share 150% 0.36% TBD* TBD
* Expected to be announced in AprilNote: Mosaic pays its dividend annually
Occidental Petroleum (OXY)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.54/share 17% 2.27% April 15 March 9
Qualcomm (QCOM)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.25/share 16% 0.47% March 23 March 2
Staples (SPLS)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.11/share 10% 2.72% April 12 March 23
The Gap (GPS)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.125/share 11.1% 1.91% April 27 April 5
Time Warner (TWX)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.26/share 11% 2.75% March 15 Feb. 29
Time Warner Cable (TWC)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.56/share 17% 2.75% March 15 Feb. 29

The Time Warner banner saw dividend increases across both Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) and the spun-off Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC). Time Warner has consistently increased its dividend for years, with its payout climbing 400% since its 5.5-cent dividend in 2007. Both stocks yield 2.75%.

United Parcel Service (UPS)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.57/share 9.6% 2.82% March 7 Feb. 21
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.3975/share 9% 2.60% April 4 March 12

Wal-Mart‘s (NYSE:WMT) dividend has tripled since 2004, with its latest boost putting the payout around 40 cents per share. The company will pay about $5.52 billion to shareholders in fiscal 2013.

WellPoint (WLP)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.2875/share 15% 1.56% March 23 March 9

Health insurer WellPoint (NYSE:WLP) followed on the heels of industry mates UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) and Aetna (NYSE:AET) last year and started paying a dividend of 25 cents per share and also began a stock-buyback program. This year it took another step forward and bumped up its dividend by 15%.

Wells Fargo (WFC)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 3/30 Payment date Record date
$0.22/share 83% 2.58% March 30 March 26

Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) joined the host of banks joining the payout parade after the stress-test results, and it also announced it will buy back more stock than it did in 2011.

Kyle Woodley is the assistant editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Follow him on Twitter at @KyleWoodley.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2012/04/30-blue-chips-increasing-dividends-in-q1/.

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