This was a huge week in dividends, particularly for the key DJIA components. We had a report calling for more and more dividend hikes of about 8% from the DJIA components in 2012. As it turns out, this week already started proving that as truth but the dividend hikes are coming on much stronger than the report was calling for. We also evaluated a “Sell in May and go away” theme to see if it was going to happen this year and this new wave of dividend hikes might be one more minimizing factor that prevents the May sell-off in 2012 compared to 2011 and 2010. The key dividend hikes were many, but we saw a serious move from Dow Jones Industrial Average components hiking their payouts.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is playing catch-up to other DJIA healthcare players and the new yield is closer to 3.8%. Call this the 50th consecutive year of dividend hikes.
Wednesday was a very different day in Big Oil. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) went ahead and raised its dividend to catch its yield up to Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX). Something strange happened along the way: Chevron went ahead and raised its dividend much sooner than expected… and on the same day! FULL STORY
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) tried something new, or old. It went back to the 1990s by announcing a stock split for the first time in well over a decade.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) lifted its payout by 13% and showed why it may still rise to $230 over the next year.
From the Department of It’s About Time… The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) finally decided to do the right thing by initiating its first-ever dividend.
Investors rely heavily on utilities now for the high dividend yields of 5% or so. In fact, utility stocks are the new CDs for safe income investors. We saw two very different takes on the outlook for utilities and their dividends ahead. This one hits American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE: AEP) and several other key utilities.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
JON C. OGG
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