As we face the reality of turbulent markets for the next few months,
finding equities with strong dividend performance is key to providing a
measure of income stability. Jonas Elmerrajifrom thestreet.com selects
eight stalwarts who have recently increased their dividend payouts.
Microsoft(MSFT)
tops the list as the largest firm to announce a dividend hike irecently. The firm's total yield is currently 3.19%
Philip Morris International(PM) stock has
gained more than 16% year-to-date with a 4.74% yield at current prices.
Texas Instruments(TXN) looks strong. The
firm has minimal debt with
more than $6.7 billion in cash and available-for-sale securities. That
financial position should more that support TXN's 30.7% dividend
increase recently.
Yum! Brands(YUM)
is the name behind restaurants such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Yum!'s payout is
currently 28 cents per quarter, a 2.24% yield.
Kroger(KR),
2011 has proven relatively strong so far. The sales growth at Kroger has helped a dividend increase to 12 cents per share.
Fifth Third Bancorp(FITB)
is a diversified Cincinnati-based regional bank with more than $111
billion in assets. This past week, the firm announced a 33.3% dividend
increase, bringing its quarterly dividend to 8 cents per share, a 3.33%
yield.
Host Hotels & Resorts(HST)
is a public hotel REIT that owns 110 properties worldwide. The firm announced a
33.3% increase in its dividend last week, bringing its yield to 1.53%.
Realty Income (O) is another firm that hiked its payouts in the most recent quarter. This $4
billion retail REIT owns 2,496 properties. At
15 cents per share, this REIT's quarterly dividend works out to a 5.29%
yield at current prices.
