45 Blue-Chip Stocks Increasing Dividends in Q3 2013

by Kyle Woodley | October 1, 2013 9:15 am

Companies Increasing Dividends[1]Let the good times roll!

Despite a post-FOMC-rally hangover, the S&P 500 has notched gains around 5% in the past three months, meaning the ubiquitous blue-chip index has fattened up by 18% or so since Baby New Year graced us Jan. 1, 2013.

But that’s not the only good news for blue-chip stocks, or the investors that are elbow-deep in them.

In the past quarter, we saw a bevy of dividend increases from some of the most hallowed names on Wall Street, including three Dow Jones Industrial Average components and five Dependable Dividend Stocks[2] — companies that have sweetened the dividend honey pot for at least 25 consecutive years.

As a kicker, a number of companies announced bigger dividends just before the end-of-quarter bell and have yet to go ex-dividend — in fact, investors still can get into 15 of these stocks before they pay out at the new higher rate.

If you’re looking to build a portfolio of income-producing stocks, note that not every stock on this list is a guaranteed winner. But it’ll at least lead you to the companies that are still able to keep the pedal down on their quarterly payouts, which is a great place to start.

So, here’s a look at 45 of Wall Street’s biggest companies that increased their dividends during the past three months, including the new payout, the percentage increase, yield based on the end-of-quarter stock price, and payment and record dates:

Accenture (ACN)*
New Payout % increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record date
$0.93/share** 14.8% 2.53% Nov. 15 Oct. 8
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 4 ** Semi-annual payout

Accenture’s (ACN[3]) 12-cent hike was just part of a big cash spend for the tech services and consulting firm. ACN also announced that it would tack another $5 billion onto its current buyback program, bringing its total authority to about $7 billion.

Agrium (AGU)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.75/share 50% 3.57% Oct. 17 Sept. 30
Altria (MO)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.48/share 9.1% 5.59% Oct. 10 Sept. 16
American International Group (AIG)^
new payout % increase Yield as of 9/30 payment date record date
$0.10/share N/A 0.82% Sept. 26 Sept. 12
^ Resumed payouts; last paid dividends in 2008

Global insurance company American International Group (AIG[4]) took another big step in its recovery from the financial crisis, announcing it would resume paying dividends for the first time since 2008. Meanwhile, AIG has reported big profit beats in its first two earnings reports of the year, helping to drive the stock up roughly 40% so far in 2013.

Anadarko Petroleum (APC)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.18/share 100% 0.77% Sept. 25 Sept. 11

Anadarko Petroleum (APC[5]) — an oil and gas exploration company that’s well-positioned in the Marcellus shale — puffed out its chest, announcing it would double its dividend starting with its September payout. The generous gesture comes amid a year in which Anadarko’s Gulf of Mexico projects keep delivering positive surprises[6].

Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)
New payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.62/share 3.3% 4.2% Oct. 29 Oct. 1

Some of the best yields in financial stocks can actually be found north of the border, in Canadian banks. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS[7]) announced a slight uptick in its dividend, helping to keep its yield north of 4%. Sectormate Royal Bank of Canada (RY[8]) joined in this quarter and also yields above 4%.

Campbell Soup (CPB)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.312/share 7.6% 3.1% Oct. 28 Oct. 8
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 4
ConocoPhillips (COP)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.69/share 4.5% 3.97% Sept. 3 July 22
Cummins (CMI)
new payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.625/share 25% 1.88% Sept. 3 Aug. 22
Dover (DOV)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.375/share 7% 1.68% Sept. 16 Aug. 30

There’s nothing sexy about Dover (DOV[9]), a diversified manufacturer whose various subsidiaries churn out products such as hearing instruments, fluid systems and stencil coating technology. The bump to its dividend wasn’t thrilling either, at just 7%, and its yield — just 1.7% — isn’t much to crow over either. However, with this payout, DOV is sitting on 58 consecutive years of dividend payouts, making it a beacon of income stability. Dover’s market-beating 37% gains YTD aren’t unappealing, either.

Franklin Resources (BEN)
new payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.10/share 3% 0.79% Oct. 11 Sept. 30
Gap (GPS)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.20/share 33% 1.99% Oct. 30 Oct. 16
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 11
Harris Corp. (HRS)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.42/share 13.5% 2.83% Sept. 24 Sept. 10
Hershey (HSY)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.485/share 15% 2.10% Sept. 13 Aug. 23
Hess (HES)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.25/share 150% 1.29% Sept. 30 Sept. 16

Hess (HES[10]) announced big changes earlier this year, saying that it was ditching the oil refining business. Well, that transition into a “pure play exploration and production company,” according to CEO John Hess, also means Hess shareholders get to raid the register — in the third quarter, HES juiced its quarterly payout from 10 cents per share to 25 cents, effective at the end of September.

Host Hotels and Resorts (HST)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.12/share 9% 2.72% Oct. 15 Sept. 30
International Game Technology (IGT)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.10/share 11% 2.11% Oct. 4 Sept. 19

International Game Technology (IGT[11]) — which produces electronic games for things such as poker, bingo and even virtual racing — has been a dividend darling this year, improving its payout for three consecutive quarters. Penny hikes in Q1, Q2 and now Q3 have brought IGT’s payout up from 7 cents at the end of 2012 to 10 cents currently — a 43% improvement so far in 2013. Meanwhile, IGT stock is up 34% year-to-date, though it got hit hard Sept. 27 on a Deutsche Bank downgrade.

Intuit (INTU)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.19/share 12% 1.15% Oct. 18 Oct. 10
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 8
J.M. Smucker (SJM)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.58/share 12% 2.21% Sept. 3 Aug. 16
Kellogg (K)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.46/share 5% 3.13% Sept. 26 Sept. 3
Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.40/share 5% 4.50% Aug. 15 July 31
KLA-Tencor (KLAC)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.45/share 12.5% 2.96% Sept. 3 Aug. 16
Kroger (KR)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.165/share 10% 1.64% Dec. 1 Nov. 15
* Goes ex-dividend Nov. 13

Kroger (KR[12]) shareholders have to be beside themselves this year. Kroger shares are up 55% year-to-date, thanks in part to a buyout of grocery chain Harris Teeter (HTSI[13]) that will bolster its presence in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast[14]. And more recently, KR holders got a 10% improvement to their quarterly income checks. Say what you want about the thin-margin grocery business, but the traditional players are killing it, with SuperValu (SVU[15], +233%) and Safeway (SWY[16], +77%) joining in the revelry.

Lockheed Martin (LMT)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$1.33/share 16% 4.17% Dec. 27 Dec. 2
* Goes ex-dividend Nov. 27
McDonald’s (MCD)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.81/share 5% 3.37% Dec. 16 Dec. 2
* Goes ex-dividend Nov. 27

McDonald’s (MCD[17]) has been relatively kicked around this year. While MCD is up 10% this year, that’s roughly half what the S&P 500 has accomplished … plus, McDonald’s essentially has been flat since March thanks to disappointments throughout the year on the top and bottom lines, as well as same-store sales.

Still, McDonald’s dividend remains its redeeming quality[18], with the newest payout yielding more than 3% and representing MCD’s 37th consecutive years of dividend increases.

Microsoft (MSFT)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.28/share 22% 3.37% Dec. 12 Nov. 21
* Goes ex-dividend Nov. 19

Microsoft (MSFT[19]) has been a roller-coaster story this year, but has (at least so far) come out higher than where it has started. MSFT is up 25% year-to-date, and that’s despite fun headlines such as a $900 million writedown[20] thanks to unsold Surface RTs, and the announcement that Steve Ballmer would be exiting by next year[21] after failing to figure out mobile. Nonetheless, Microsoft stock has managed to maintain much of its first-half gains, and now enters the fourth quarter with rumors that Ford’s (F[22]) Alan Mulally is the lead candidate to take over[23].

Mondelez (MDLZ)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.14/share 8% 1.78% Oct. 15 Sept. 30
Monsanto (MON)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.43/share 15% 1.65% Oct. 25 Oct. 4
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 2
Moody’s (MCO)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.25/share 25% 1.42% Sept. 10 Aug. 10
Motorola Solutions (MSI)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment Date Record Date
$0.31/share 19% 2.09% Oct. 13 Sept. 13
Nielsen (NLSN)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.20/share 25% 2.19% Sept. 11 Aug. 28
Norfolk Southern (NSC)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.52/share 4% 2.69% Sept. 10 Aug. 2

Railway operator Norfolk Southern (NSC[24]) has chugged along this year, even recovering a slight earnings miss in July, to rack up 25% gains through the end of Q3. Investors also got a little more coin from NSC this past quarter, and at 2.69%, Norfolk Southern still is the highest-yielding of the “big four” railroad stocks.

Pall Corp. (PLL)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.275/share 10% 1.43% Nov. 8 Oct. 18
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 16

Filtration and purification — it’s a recipe for a sleeping potion, I’m sure. But it’s also the recipe for success at Pall Corp. (PLL[25]), which has ridden roughly 30% gains this year — including a big push in September — to all-time highs above $77 per share. To keep up with its screaming stock, PLL upped its dividend another 10%.

PetSmart (PETM)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.195/share 18% 1.02% Nov. 15 Nov. 1
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 30
Philip Morris International (PM)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.94/share 10.6% 4.34% Oct. 11 Sept. 23
Royal Bank of Canada (RY)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.67/share 6% 4.06% Nov. 22 Oct. 24
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 22
SanDisk (SNDK)^
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.225/share N/A 1.51% Aug. 30 Aug. 1
^ First dividend

To its credit, data storage maker SanDisk (SNDK[26]) didn’t wait for a down year to announce its first dividend. SNDK was riding 25% gains by the end of July, when it announced it would pay out a 22.5-cent dividend starting in late August. It also tacked on another $2.5 billion to its stock repurchase program.

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.50/share 2% 2.21% Sept. 17 Sept. 6
Texas Instruments (TXN)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.30/share 7% 2.98% Nov. 18 Oct. 31
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 29

Chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN[27]) has lifted itself to 13-year highs with its 30% year-to-date gains, coming off a couple quarters of strong earnings growth, even in the face of shrinking revenues. Meanwhile, its 7% dividend bump is its fourth payout increase in the past three years, bringing the dividend from 13 cents to 30 cents in that time.

Valero (VLO)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.225/share 12.5% 2.64% Sept. 11 Aug. 14
Verizon (VZ)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.53/share 2.9% 4.54% Nov. 1 Oct. 10
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 8
Walgreen (WAG)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.315/share 14.5% 2.34% Sept. 12 Aug. 20

Walgreen (WAG[28]) shares have sizzled nearly 50% year-to-date, thanks in part to a 15% dividend improvement that helped please Walgreen shareholders this past quarter. For the cherry on top, WAG also reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings this morning that soared 86% year-over-year and topped analyst estimates.

Weyerhaeuser (WY)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.22/share 10% 3.07% Sept. 13 Aug. 30
Williams Cos. (WMB)
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.36625/share 17.2% 4.03% Sept. 30 Sept. 13
Yum Brands (YUM)*
New Payout % Increase Yield as of 9/30 Payment date Record date
$0.37/share 10% 2.07% Nov. 1 Oct. 11
* Goes ex-dividend Oct. 9

Kyle Woodley[29] is the Deputy Managing Editor of InvestorPlace.com[30]. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Follow him on Twitter at @IPKyleWoodley[31].

Dividend Stocks[32]

Endnotes:

  1. [Image]: https://investorplace.com/hot-topics/companies-increasing-dividends/
  2. Dependable Dividend Stocks: https://investorplace.com/dividend-paying-stocks/
  3. ACN: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=ACN
  4. AIG: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AIG
  5. APC: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=APC
  6. Gulf of Mexico projects keep delivering positive surprises: https://investorplace.com/2013/03/andarkos-huge-find-could-mean-hefty-profits/
  7. BNS: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=BNS
  8. RY: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=RY
  9. DOV: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=DOV
  10. HES: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=HES
  11. IGT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=IGT
  12. KR: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=KR
  13. HTSI: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=HTSI
  14. bolster its presence in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast: https://investorplace.com/2013/07/kroger-buys-harris-teeter-a-smart-move/
  15. SVU: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=SVU
  16. SWY: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=SWY
  17. MCD: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=MCD
  18. McDonald’s dividend remains its redeeming quality: https://investorplace.com/2013/09/mcd-mcdonalds-stock/
  19. MSFT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=MSFT
  20. $900 million writedown: http://slant.investorplace.com/2013/07/microsoft-stock-is-not-a-bargain-right-now/
  21. Steve Ballmer would be exiting by next year: https://investorplace.com/2013/08/ballmer-bows-out-and-investors-cheer/
  22. F: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=F
  23. lead candidate to take over: https://www.valuewalk.com/2013/09/ford-ceo-alan-mulally-to-take-microsoft-reins/
  24. NSC: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=NSC
  25. PLL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=PLL
  26. SNDK: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=SNDK
  27. TXN: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=TXN
  28. WAG: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=WAG
  29. Kyle Woodley: https://www.investorplace.com/author/kyle-woodley/
  30. InvestorPlace.com: https://investorplace.com/
  31. @IPKyleWoodley: https://twitter.com/#%21/ipkylewoodley
  32. Dividend Stocks: https://investorplace.com/stock-types/dividend-stocks/

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/10/45-blue-chip-stocks-increasing-dividends-in-q3-2013/