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 Calumet Specialty Products Partners (CLMT -0.96%). The producer of specialty hydrocarbon products is boosting the quarterly cash distribution of its master limited partnership to $0.65 a unit. This represents a 5% increase since its November payout and a healthy 23% spike over the past year.
Kinder Morgan (KMI -0.64%) is also gushing these days. The company behind the nation's largest network of natural gas pipelines will be paying $0.37 a share in its next quarterly disbursement. Kinder Morgan's dividend has climbed 19% over the past year. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) -- a master limited partnership appendage of Kinder Morgan specializing in energy transportation and storage -- also juiced up its distributions.
Agilent Technologies (A 1.00%) is also dispensing larger sums of money to its stakeholders. The high-tech measurement specialist is giving its quarterly rate a 20% boost to $0.12 a share. It's not the only way that Agilent is returning money to its shareholders: Its board has also authorized a $500 million share buyback plan.
Finally, we have Schlumberger (SLB -0.48%) striking it rich with income investors. The provider of technology, integrated project management, and information solutions for the oil and gas industry is raising its quarterly dividend 14% to $0.3125 a share.
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.
