Investors were not treated to another big surprise hike like last week’s move by Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), but 10 companies still joined our Companies Increasing Dividends list this week, while another got the green light to hike its payout. (Note: All yields as of Aug. 23 closing prices unless otherwise noted.)
American tobacco giant Altria (NYSE:MO) announced Friday that it would light up its already lofty quarterly dividend by 7.3% to 44 cents per share, payable Oct. 10 to holders of record Sept. 14. MO’s new yield, as of Friday share prices, is 5.2%.
Marine seismic data manufacturer Bolt Technology (NASDAQ:BOLT) raised its quarterly dividend by 4% to 7 cents per share, payable Oct. 4 to stockholders of record Sept. 6. BOLT’s new yield is 1.9%.
Chili’s parent Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) cooked up a dividend hike Friday, boosting its quarterly payout 25% to 20 cents per share, payable Sept. 27 to shareholders of record Sept. 10. The board also authorized a $500 increase in the stock repurchase program, resulting in a total of $626 million available for buybacks. EAT’s new yield, as of Friday’s prices, is 2.3%.
Financial holding company Chemical Financial (NASDAQ:CHFC) raised its quarterly dividend 5% to 21 cents per share, payable Sept. 21 to shareholders of record Sept. 5. CHFC’s new yield is 3.7%.
Property and casualty insurer Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) raised its quarterly dividend 12.5% to 40.75 cents per share, payable Oct. 15 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 9. Cincinnati Financial has increased its dividend every year for the past 51 years, with an average annual increase of 7% during the past five years, and is one of InvestorPlace’s Dependable Dividend Stocks. CINF’s new yield is 4.19%.
High-performance test and measurement maker MTS Systems (NASDAQ:MTSC) raised its quarterly dividend by 20% to 30 cents per share, payable Oct. 1 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 10. This is the company’s 123rd consecutive quarterly dividend. Additionally, the company said its board has authorized the repurchase of up to $40 million of the company’s common stock. MTSC’s new yield is 2.41%.
Real estate investment trust Parkway Properties (NYSE:PKY) increased its quarterly dividend 50% to 11.25 cents per share, payable Sept. 26 to shareholders of record on Sept. 12. PKY’s new yield is 3.87%.
Realty Income Corp. (NYSE:O), another REIT, raised its monthly dividend 3.4% to 15.1125 cents per share, payable Sept. 17 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 4. This is the 67th dividend increase since Realty Income went public in 1994. O’s new yield is 4.33%.
Professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE:TW) raised its quarterly dividend 15% to 11.5 cents per share, payable on or about Oct. 15 to shareholders of record on Sept. 28. TW’s new yield is 0.85%.
West Virginia-based bank holding company WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) raised its quarterly dividend by 5.9% to 18 cents per share, payable Oct. 1 to shareholders of record on Sept. 7. This is the second increase in the quarterly dividend this year and represents an annualized 12.5% increase in WesBanco’s dividend for 2012. WSBC’s new yield is 3.38%.
Special Mention
Bank holding company Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) was approved by the Federal Reserve Bank to proceed with a 25% increase in its dividend to 10 cents per quarter. Ohio’s leading lender initially was denied the increase in March. The bank also got approval to repurchase up to $600 million worth of stock, and already had signed off on a plan to buy back about $350 million. FITB currently yields 2.7%.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. For more payout winners, see previous weeks’ lists of Companies Increasing Dividends.
