Shoppers aren't the only ones getting into the holiday spirit. These days, many companies are getting into the mood by dishing out higher dividend checks. The money is nice, but the sweeter point for investors is that these companies are confident enough in their future earnings power to give up a little more of their cash to investors.

Readers of the Fool's Income Investor newsletter service can certainly appreciate that kind of thinking. Let's take a closer look at four of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.

We can start with Disney (NYSE:DIS). The family entertainment giant prefers to pay out dividends annually -- not every three months -- but investors can expect a heavier check this time around. Thanks to a strong all-around year, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation will be sending its shareholders $0.31 a share next month. That's a 15% improvement over its previous payout.

Another company spicing things up is McCormick (NYSE:MKC). The specialist in spices, flavorings, and seasonings peppered its quarterly distribution by 11% to $0.20 a share. McCormick investors shouldn't be surprised: The company has now boosted its yield for 20 years in a row.

Deere (NYSE:DE) was another hiker. The agricultural-equipment juggernaut knows a thing or two about toiling around with fertile land. In fewer than three years, Deere has doubled its distributions through a series of four hikes. On Wednesday, Deere mowed down its more recent $0.39-per-share disbursement and planted a $0.44-per-share dividend in its place. With the move, Deere's stock is now yielding a respectable 1.9%.

Then we have Teche Holding (NYSE:TSH). The company behind Louisiana's Teche Federal Bank chain is making a worthy withdrawal by growing its quarterly payouts by 15% to $0.30 a share. The company has now boosted its dividends for 15 consecutive years.

Subscribers to Income Investor 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.

Want to see what's being recommended these days? Go ahead and give the newsletter service a shot with a 30-day trial subscription. Who knows? Maybe the next thing getting raised will be your interest.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz pays attention to yield signs. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.