35 Blue-Chip Dividend Stocks Increasing Payouts in Q2 2014

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This year, those who sold in May and went away … well, they didn’t get paid.

blue-chip-dividend-stocks-dividend-yieldThe S&P 500 is up some 4% since May 1, making that old saw seem sillier than ever, and making a few investors richer in the process. And if you’re a card-carrying member of the dividend yield-seeking crowd … well, dividend stocks had a little something for you, too.

Among the laundry list of dividend stocks pumping up their payouts were a host of 35 blue chips, which includes 31 members of the S&P 500, five Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks and five Dependable Dividend Stocks — companies that have upped their regular dividends for at least 25 consecutive years.

While some of these dividend stocks’ newly improved payouts have already been distributed for the quarter, 10 of these companies have yet to go ex-dividend, meaning that if you’ve been considering jumping into them in the first place, you still can get in before their bumped-up payouts get rolling.

As a note, these aren’t recommendations for any of the dividend stocks mentioned — merely a reference point for income investors looking to see which companies continue to press the pedal on increased distributions, and a starting place for research into new income investments.

Now, onto our look at dividend stocks that have upped the ante during the past three months, including the new payout, percentage increase, dividend yield based on the closing price on June 29, and payment and record dates:

American Express (AXP)*
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.26 13% 1.1% Aug. 8 July 11
* Goes ex-dividend July 9
Anadarko Petroleum (APC)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.29 50% 0.99% June 25 June 11
Apple (AAPL)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$3.29 8% 2.04% May 15 May 12

Not a bad quarter, Apple (AAPL). Not a bad quarter at all. Apple stock has continued its rally out of its 2013 valley, running up another 20% in the past three months. Investors and techies alike are dying for details about when the new iPhone 6 will see the light of day. Its Worldwide Developers Conference included exciting news about health and home technology. And investors got a treat as Apple improved its dividend by 8%.

Avago Technologies (AVGO)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.29 7.4% 1.64% June 30 June 19
Baker Hughes (BHI)*
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.17 13.3% 0.92% Aug. 15 Aug. 4
* Goes ex-dividend July 31

Oilfield services stock Baker Hughes (BHI) rode Street-beating first-quarter earnings to a 13% run in shares over the past three months — and, funnily enough, also increased its dividend by just about the same amount.

Bank of Montreal (BMO)*
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.78 2.6% 3.9% Aug. 26 Aug. 8
* Goes ex-dividend July 30

Looking for dividend stocks outside of the usual crowd? You might be surprised to find out that Canadian bank stocks are typically a pretty good source of yield across the board. For its part, Bank of Montreal (BMO) kept its juicy dividend yield propped up with an increase announced earlier this quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon (BK)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.17 13% 1.88% May 7 April 25
Baxter International (BAX)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.52 6.1% 2.86% July 1 June 6
Best Buy (BBY)*
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.19 12% 2.45% Oct. 2 Sept. 11
* Goes ex-dividend Sept. 9
Caterpillar (CAT)*
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.70 16.7% 2.57% Aug. 20 July 21
* Goes ex-dividend July 17
Celanese (CE)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.25 39% 1.56% May 16 May 5

There’s not much about Celanese (CE) that’s going to attract much attention — it’s not the biggest name in chemical products, it’s not among the most heavily traded stocks, either. But those in the know (and in CE stock) enjoyed roughly 20% capital gains this past quarter, as well as a nearly 40% boost in its quarterly dividend.

Clorox (CLX)*
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.74 4.2% 3.23% Aug. 8 July 23
* Goes ex-dividend July 21
C.R. Bard (BCR)*
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.22 4.8% 0.61% Aug. 1 July 21
* Goes ex-dividend July 17
FedEx (FDX)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.20 33.3% 0.53% July 3 June 19

FedEx (FDX) had itself a nice quarterly beat announced just a few weeks ago, and it also delivered a 33%-plus dividend hike … though new money should note that FDX’s yield is still pretty piddling.

Helmerich & Payne (HP)*
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.6875 10% 2.38% Aug. 15 Sept. 2
* Goes ex-dividend Aug. 13
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.16 10.2% 1.89% July 2 June 11
HollyFrontier (HFC)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.32 6.7% 2.88% June 27 June 6
Macy’s (M)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.3125 25% 2.13% July 1 June 13
Medtronic (MDT)*
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.305 9% 1.9% July 25 July 3
* Goes ex-dividend July 1
MetLife (MET)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.35 27% 2.52% June 13 May 9
National-Oilwell Varco (NOV)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.46 76.9% 2.23% June 27 June 13

Energy equipment supplier National-Oilwell Varco (NOV) delivered one of the biggest dividend increases of the quarter, striking a 76.9% gusher of a hike. This came on the back of relatively disappointing earnings, though shares still managed to climb more than 6% this quarter.

Noble Energy (NBL)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.18 28% 0.93% May 19 May 5
Northrop Grumman (NOC)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.70 15% 2.32% June 18 June 2
PNC Financial Services (PNC)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.48 9% 2.15% May 5 April 15
Procter & Gamble (PG)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.6436 7% 3.26% May 15 April 231
Regions Financial (RF)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.05 66.7% 1.87% July 1 June 13

Regions Financial (RF) was among several financials to boost payouts this past quarter, though RF’s hike was among the biggest at about 67%. Granted, it wasn’t as exciting as what it did last year, when Regions tripled its dividend.

Safeway (SWY)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.23 15% 2.68% June 19 June 10
Southern Company (SO)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.525 15% 4.66% June 6 May 5
SunTrust (STI)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.20 100% 1.99% June 16 May 30
Target (TGT)*
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.52 20.95% 3.58% Sept. 10 Aug. 20
* Goes ex-dividend Aug. 18

There’s not much to cheer about at Target (TGT). The company’s shares declined another 3% in the second quarter amid its CEO ouster and struggles in Canada. But, on the upside, Target did deliver a nice 21% boost to its payout, keeping it on our list of Dependable Dividend Stocks.

TJX Cos. (TJX)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.175 21% 1.33% June 5 May 15
Travelers (TRV)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.55 10% 2.34% June 30 June 10

Travelers (TRV) didn’t give investors much to complain about back in April. Earnings growth was in double digits, EPS beat the Street, and Travelers’ dividend climbed another 10%. All in all, that has helped shares climb some 12% during the past three months.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.375 34% 1.83% June 25 June 12
U.S. Bancorp (USB)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.245 6.5% 2.26% July 15 June 30
Viacom (VIAB)
New Payout % increase DIVIDEND Yield as of 6/29 Payment Date Record date
$0.33 10% 1.53% July 1 June 13

Kyle Woodley is the Deputy Managing 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/2014/06/blue-chip-dividend-stocks-q2-2014/.

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