AT&T (T) And The Dividend Economy: Where Is Apple's (AAPL) Yield?

AT&T (T) raised its dividend today and upped its share buy-back. The company’s stock is up almost 9% on the news, the most in five years, according to Bloomberg.

It looks like the old dividend is become a big item in a tough economy.

Who should follow suit? The cash rich and dividend poor. Even some of the companies with share buy-backs. It is easier for investors to see a benefit in a dividend hike than it is when shares are being bought over a long period.

Intel (INTC) has too much cash. It has a 1.6% yield. Moving that to 2% or better would help the stock.

Apple (AAPL) has $15 billion of cash in the bank. It never buys other companies. Apple could probably afford a $6 or $7 special dividend.

Verizon (VZ) should not want AT&T to get ahead of it. But, it already yields 3.8%, so it would not have to do much.

Cisco (CSCO) could certainly offer a 3% yield. With its shares down, it would be attractive.

Exxon (XOM) has an extremely modest yield of 1.5% and the company is minting money. The number should be 4%.

Douglas A. McIntyre