Throughout December we have been giving updates on dividends that will rise in the coming days and weeks from the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks. Many have already come true and others are still likely coming very soon. Some of these are on our 2012 Model Dividend Portfolio (see below to receive that report in full) and some are not.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) offered a surprise dividend hike that we would have expected perhaps next year, but it came anyhow. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was one we have been calling on for a higher dividend down the pipe and it jumped in far sooner than expected. Those that hiked their dividends exactly as we expected are the Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) with a much higher jump than the market was expecting, followed by AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE).

Those from whichwe are still looking for dividend hikes after the first of the year and just beyond the first quarter of 2012: Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), the Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM), International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), 3M Company (NYSE: MMM), and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

For those investors who love dividends, we would focus also in 2012 on some of the key ETFs, like the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (NYSE: DVY), Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE: VIG), PowerShares Dividend Achievers (NYSE: PFM) and the iShares High Dividend Equity (NYSE: HDV) ETF products.

We have broken out some summaries of each DJIA component from which we still expect to see dividend hikes from soon.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has recently kept is low dividend static, and we would look for a 2012 announcement of a higher payout. It could boost the payout, but it needs its restructuring a bit further in the rear-view mirror to avoid bad PR. Look for Cisco to boost its payout in 2012 for its March or July payment. Even with its silly share buybacks, Cisco’s payout ratio is only about 14% of its expected 2012 earnings and the company has a mountain of cash.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) has already had four straight quarters of a $0.47 payout and it is paying out 45% to 50% of its expected earnings ahead. Despite moving toward increasing growth in emerging markets, it seems unlikely that Coca-Cola will need capital for a transformative or large acquisition now. Its 2.8% yield is under the 3.2% yield of rival Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP).

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) recently has paid three straight quarters of $0.47 as a dividend and Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) recently hiked its payout in less than the four-quarter norm. Our take is that Exxon will boost its payout in the first few months of 2012 to $0.50 for its May 2012 dividend unless it surprises us with a hike sooner. Its 2.3% dividend is just not incredibly enticing today, even after becoming a natural gas giant as well.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) has paid three straight quarters of $0.75 and it has a long history of annual dividend hikes. The company is just about to come under a new CEO and it pays out only about 22% of its expected 2011 income. Warren Buffett loves dividends and he recently spent some $10 billion or so buying up IBM shares. Look for a hike to be announced for its May 2012 payout.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has paid out a dividend of $0.57 per share for three straight quarters and that puts our expectation of a dividend hike for its May 2012 payout. Just do not expect a huge hike from J&J. Its dividend yield is already about 3.5%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a wild card because it is hard to know if the regulators will allow it to raise its dividends, even if it easily passes the new coming bank stress tests in January. It is now only one month away from its fourth dividend payout of $0.25 and it is by far the most likely of the money-center banking giants that could raise the payout if it wanted to. Jamie Dimon previously noted that he wants to raise the dividend. Our take is that the dividend argument will heat up in the first quarter for the April payout.

3M Company (NYSE: MMM) has now paid its fourth consecutive payout of $0.55 per quarter and it has a deep history of raising its dividends annually. The company even raised its payouts during the recession. Expect a higher payout for its dividend due in February. Rival GE greatly outyields 3M’s 2.8% yield currently. The risk is now an upside risk that 3M might boost its payout by more than normal to get closer to that of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) as it pays out less than 40% of the expected 2012 earnings per share.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has just recently paid out its fourth payout of $0.365 per share, so we will be looking for its dividend hike news in the first quarter of 2012. It raised its payout during the recession, so why would it stop now? It does not exactly need the cash for big acquisitions and the company is now at the higher-end of its long-term trading range. Walmart was recently named to the 24/7 Wall St. 2012 Model Dividend Portfolio as its yield is now only 2.5% after its shares have appreciated.

If you want to receive the full 24/7 Wall St. 2012 Model Dividend Portfolio, it is being offered in full, with more than 10 different stocks, to those who sign up for our free daily email subscriber list below. Each morning we send our free email list subscribers a snapshot of the key feature stories, the top daily analyst upgrades and downgrades, previews for key events and many other aspects governing your finances.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

JON C. OGG

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.