Last year may have been a year of dividend slashing, but there are now more and more companies committed to sending more money to their shareholders in 2010. Let's take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.

We'll start with Oxford Industries (NYSE: OXM). The company behind Tommy Bahama tropical clothing is dressing up its quarterly dividend by 22%, to $0.11 a share.

Watsco (NYSE: WSO) is also tinkering with its payout thermostat. The distributor of air-conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment is increasing its quarterly distributions by 8%, to $0.52 a share.

Todd Shipyards' (NYSE: TOD) rate is also sailing higher. The ship-repairer and maintenance specialist is hoisting its quarterly disbursements by 50%, to $0.075 a share. That's a welcome move for shareholders, since the company dramatically slashed its yield two years ago. The new $0.075-a-share rate is still just half of what Todd Shipyards was paying in 2007, but at least it now has its rudder pointed in the right direction.

The week went well for yield-chasers. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) announced that it would consider a dramatic increase to its payouts once regulatory reform is settled, if economic conditions warrant the generosity.

Foreign banker Credicorp (NYSE: BAP) also goes ex-dividend on its $1.70-a-share annual dividend later this month. The financial-services player with interests in Peru and Bolivia managed to raise its payout from $1.50 a share the past two years.

Some of these moves may not seem like much, but plenty of companies haven't been able to support even their current dividends lately.

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