Not every company is slashing its dividend these days. Some of the market's better performers are easing up on their purse strings and sending more money out to their shareholders. So let's take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.
We can start with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE ) . The pharmaceuticals giant is boosting its quarterly dividend by 13% to $0.18 a share, despite the recent integration of Wyeth into its bloodstream.
"We currently believe that we can support future annual dividend increases, barring significant unforeseen events," Pfizer CEO Jeffrey Kindler notes in the declaration.
Cereal juggernaut General Mills (NYSE: GIS ) is also spooning out more money for its shareholders. Its new quarterly rate of $0.49 a share isn't a lot more than its previous $0.47-per-share rate, but this is the second time this year that General Mills has bumped up its disbursements.
ABM Industries (NYSE: ABM ) is also on the move. The provider of facility services is improving its payouts by 4%. Investors will now receive $0.135 a share every three months.
Finally, we have Prospect Capital (Nasdaq: PSEC ) keeping its enviable streak alive. Some companies try to deliver annual distribution increases, but Prospect Capital has made it a quarterly art. The corporate lender, set up as a closed-end fund, has jacked up its dividend in each of the past 21 quarters. The new rate is $0.40875 a share.
Some of these moves may not seem like much, but there are plenty of companies that haven't been able to support even their current dividends this year.
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