Dividend checks continue to get fatter in corporate America, as more companies jack up their distribution rates.
Readers of the Income Investor newsletter can certainly appreciate that kind of thinking. Let's take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher these past few days.
We can start with Cisco (CSCO -0.52%). The leading seller of routers, switches, and other networking gear is increasing its quarterly dividend 21% to $0.17 a share.
Cisco's yield is now an impressive 3.3%. That's not too shabby for a tech bellwether that wasn't even paying out distributions until two years ago.
Western Asset Mortgage Capital (WMC) is also beefing up its yield. The REIT that snaps up residential mortgage-backed securities and shells out most of the housing payments to its stakeholders is boosting its quarterly rate by 5% to $0.95 a share.
The move props Western Asset Mortgage Capital's yield to a frothy 16.1%.
Rockwell Automation (ROK 0.50%) isn't being an automaton with its disbursements. The leading player in industrial automation and information is jacking up its quarterly payouts 11% to $0.52 a share. This may not seem like much, but string enough of these increases along and you really move the needle. Rockwell's rate has soared 80% over the past four years.
Finally, we have TJX (TJX 1.20%) giving its shareholders more money as they hit the register. The parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and other retail concepts will be paying its investors $0.145 a share every three months, for a healthy 26% hike. Investors should be used to this by now. TJX has come through with increases for 17 years in a row.
Checks and balances
Subscribers to the Income Investor newsletter can appreciate the companies sending more and more money to their investors. The newsletter singles out companies that are committed to growing their distributions with market-thumping results. A 30-day trial subscription will let you see if it's right for you.
