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.
* 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.