Even a weak June sparked by QE “tapering” fears couldn’t dampen the biggest story of 2013 — the fantastic strength of America’s broad stock-market indices through the first six months of the year.

The S&P 500 finished ahead more than 12% through June — its best return at the midway point since 1998.

But an especially sweet side story for income investors was a slew of dividend increases in some of the sturdiest blue-chip names out there, including eight Dow Jones Industrial Average components and 11 Dependable Dividend Stocks — companies that haven’t just paid out quarterly dividends for at least 25 consecutive years, but that have increased them at least once every year!

That makes the following list the appropriate starting blocks for any investors trying to beef up the income side of their portfolio. Not only does it run down 50 blue-chip dividend stocks that have announced hikes in their quarterly checks, but it includes 13 companies that have yet to go ex-dividend — meaning there’s still time to buy into these names before they pay out their newly increased dividends.

Here’s a look at these 50 companies, including the new payout, the percentage increase, yield based on the end-of-quarter stock price, and payment and record dates (an asterisk denotes a stock that has not gone ex-dividend as of publication):

Apple (AAPL)

New Payout	% increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record date
$3.05/share	15%	3.08%	May 16	May 13

All in all, the second quarter of 2013 was a lousy three months for Apple (AAPL) shareholders, who watched their stock shed another 10% on top of the nearly 20% gashing it suffered in Q1. Perhaps the only relieving news came in April, when Apple announced a 15% improvement to its dividend, as well as an expansion of its stock repurchase authorization from $10 billion to $60 billion, which it expects to complete by the end of 2015.

American Electric Power (AEP)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.49/share	4.3%	4.38%	June 10	May 10

American Express (AXP)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.23/share	15%	1.23%	Aug. 9	July 5
* Goes ex-dividend July 2

American Express (AXP) is the first of the companies on this list that has yet to go ex-dividend, with that date coming up tomorrow for an Aug. 9 payout. AXP’s improved dividend is just the cherry on top of a great first half that has seen the stock trounce the S&P 500 with 30% gains, and that included a Q1 earnings beat reported back in April.

American Water Works (AWK)

new payout	% increase	Yield as of 6/30	payment date	record date
$0.28/share	12%	2.72%	June 3	May 24

AON (AON)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.175/share	11%	1.09%	May 15	May 1

Bank of New York Mellon (BK)

New payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.15/share	15%	2.14%	May 7	April 29

Baxter International (BAX)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.49/share	9%	2.83%	July 7	June 7

Capital One Financial (COF)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.30/share	500%	1.91%	May 23	May 13

Capital One Financial (COF) investors got huge news in March when the Federal Reserve gave COF the green light to improve its dividend — at the time, a proposed increase of 20 cents annually to $1.20. The company officially declared the new dividend in early May, and distributed its first 30-cent payout a couple weeks later, juicing its annual yield from under a half-percent to nearly 2%.

Cardinal Health (CAH)

new payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.3025/share	10%	2.56%	July 15	July 1

Caterpillar (CAT)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.60/share	15.4%	2.91%	Aug. 20	July 22
* Goes ex-dividend July 18

Boy, did Caterpillar (CAT) shareholders need this. At -8% year-to-date, the heavy machinery manufacturer is one of just two Dow stocks in the red through 2013’s first six months (Alcoa [AA] is the other, down 10%). Poor pricing in metals and minerals has cramped miners, in turn hurting demand for many CAT products. However, the company did hike its quarterly payout, and also announced a $1 billion stock buyback program.

Chevron (CVX)

new payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$1.00/share	11.5%	3.38%	June 10	May 17

Clorox (CLX)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.71/share	11%	3.42%	Aug. 9	July 24
* Goes ex-dividend July 22

Coach (COH)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.3375/share	13%	2.36%	July 1	June 7

Costco (COST)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.31/share	12.7%	1.12%	May 31	May 17

It’s been a pretty good year for Costco (COST). Shares have gained about 12% year-to-date, the company announced a double-digit percentage increase in its quarterly payout in early May, then later in the month, COST issued a quality earnings report that included improvements in profits, same-store sales and revenues from memberships.

C.R. Bard (BCR)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.21/share	5%	0.77%	Aug. 2	July 22
* Goes ex-dividend July 18

Darden Restaurants (DRI)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.55/share	10%	4.36%	Aug. 1	July 10
* Goes ex-dividend July 8

Duke Energy (DUK)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.78/share	2%	4.62%	Sept. 16	Aug. 16
* Goes ex-dividend Aug. 14

DuPont (DD)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.45/share	5%	3.43%	June 12	May 15

EMC (EMC)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.10/share	N/A^	1.69%	July 23	July 1
^ First dividend

Back in late May, struggling data storage equipment firm EMC (EMC) reached into its pockets to try to reverse a couple years of stock stagnancy. The company announced its first ever quarterly dividend, a 10-cent-per-share payout, and also boosted its stock buyback plan from $1 billion to $6 billion through the end of 2015.

Exxon Mobil (XOM)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.63/share	11%	2.79%	June 10	May 13

Fastenal (FAST)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.20/share	100%	1.75%	May 30	May 2

Following a late-2012 dividend glut that included a 21-cent regular dividend and a special 50-cent payout, Fastenal (FAST) announced a smaller 10-cent dividend for Q1 2013. Well, that payout rebounded in Q2, with the company doubling its dividend to 20 cents as its cash reserves situation improved.

FedEx (FDX)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.15/share	7%	0.61%	July 1	June 17

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.12/share	9%	2.66%	July 18	June 28

Hartford Financial Services (HIG)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.15/share	50%	1.94%	Oct. 1	TBA
* Ex-dividend date yet to be announced

Hartford Financial Services (HIG) was another big winner from the first half. HIG shares roughly tripled the S&P 500 with 38% gains, the company bumped up its share repurchase program from $500 million to $1.25 billion and Hartford gave its dividend a 50% kick in the pants. The big cash spends were made possible as HIG sold off a number of its arms to free up capital and focus more on its core property-casualty insurance business.

International Business Machines (IBM)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.95/share	12%	1.99%	June 10	May 10

Invesco (IVZ)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.225/share	30%	2.83%	June 17	May 17

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.38/share	2.7%	3.98%	May 16	April 29

Macy’s (M)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.25/share	25%	2.08%	July 1	June 14

Medtronic (MDT)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment Date	Record Date
$0.28/share	8%	2.18%	July 26	July 5
* Goes ex-dividend July 2

National-Oilwell Varco (NOV)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.26/share	100%	1.51%	June 28	June 14

In May, energy equipment provider National-Oilwell Varco (NOV) announced the biggest increase to its dividend since initiating the quarterly payout back in 2010, crediting its strengthening cash flow over the past few years.

NetApp (NTAP)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.15/share	N/A^	1.59%	July 23	July 11
* Goes ex-dividend July 9, ^ First dividend

The May announcement that NetApp (NTAP) would initiate a dividend and boost its stock buyback program was somewhat bittersweet, as it came alongside fiscal Q4 earnings that fell 4%, weaker-than-expected current-quarter sales estimates and news that it would cut about 900 of its roughly 13,000 employees.

NiSource (NI)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.25/share	4.2%	3.49%	Aug. 20	July 31
* Goes ex-dividend July 29

Northrop Grumman (NOC)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.61/share	10.9%	2.95%	June 12	May 23

Oracle (ORCL)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.12/share	100%	1.56%	Aug. 2	July 12
* Goes ex-dividend July 10

Oracle (ORCL) tried to add a silver lining to its second ugly earnings report of 2013. Following up a fiscal Q3 announcement in which earnings fell short of expectations, leading investors to hammer shares, Oracle recorded a Q4 revenue miss that again spooked Wall Street. YTD, Oracle stock has dropped off nearly 8%.

PepsiCo (PEP)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.5675/share	6%	2.78%	June 28	June 7

PNC Financial Services (PNC)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.44/share	10%	2.41%	May 5	April 16

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.35/share	28%	3.67%	Aug. 2	July 12
* Goes ex-dividend July 10

PPG Industries (PPG)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.61/share	3%	1.67%	June 12	May 1

PPG Industries’ (PPG) small increase to its payout marked the 42nd year in a row that the paints and coatings company has hiked its quarterly dividend — a dividend that it has paid out uninterrupted since 1899. That easily keeps PPG Industries among our Dependable Dividend Stocks.

Procter & Gamble (PG)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.6015/share	7.7%	3.13%	May 15	April 26

Safeway (SWY)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.20/share	14%	3.38%	July 11	June 20

Southwest Airlines (LUV)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.04/share	300%	1.24%	June 26	June 5

The people’s champion of airlines, Southwest (LUV), has doubly rewarded investors this year, not only racking up share appreciation of about 25%, but also announcing in May that its quarterly payout would reach a much higher altitude. Specifically, its payout has gone from 1 cent to 4 cents quarterly.

Target (TGT)*

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.43/share	19.4%	2.5%	Sept. 10	Aug. 21
* Goes ex-dividend Aug. 19

Tiffany & Co. (TIF)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.34/share	6%	1.87%	July 10	June 20

TJX Companies (TJX)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.145/share	26%	1.16%	June 6	May 16

UnitedHealth Group (UNH)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.28/share	31.8%	1.71%	June 21	June 14

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) announced its first dividend increase as a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average in early June, capping a strong first half for the medical insurance titan. UNH shares trumped the Dow’s roughly 14% return with 21% gains, despite the company’s April announcement of a double-digit YOY decline in first-quarter earnings.

U.S. Bancorp (USB)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.23/share	18%	2.54%	July 15	June 28

Viacom (VIAB)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.30/share	11%	1.76%	July 1	June 14

Whirlpool (WHR)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.625/share	25%	2.19%	June 15	May 1

Appliance-maker Whirlpool (WHR) tripped a bit in mid-June following a 52-week period in which shares more than doubled, though the stock’s 12% year-to-date gains still match the S&P 500. The 25% increase to the payout to 62.5 cents per share marks WHR’s first change to its dividend since early 2011, when it went from 43 cents to 50 cents.

W.W. Grainger (GWW)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.93/share	16%	1.48%	June 1	May 13

Xcel Energy (XEL)

New Payout	% Increase	Yield as of 6/30	Payment date	Record date
$0.28/share	3.7%	3.95%	July 20	June 20

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 @IPKyleWoodley.