Campbell Soup, Pfizer, Mastercard, and Other Companies That Raised Their Dividends This Week
In a busy week for dividend announcements, Abbott, Campbell Soup, Zoetis, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Broadcomm were among the large U.S. companies that said they plan to boost their payouts.
Abbott Laboratories (ticker: ABT), whose portfolio includes medical devices and nutritional products, declared a quarterly dividend of 45 cents a share, up 25% from 36 cents. The stock, which yields 1.4%, has returned about 23% this year, dividends included.
This marks the 49th straight year in which the company has raised its dividend. Abbott is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, all of which have paid out a higher dividend for at least 25 straight years.
Another member of the Aristocrats, Pentair (PNR), plans to raise its quarterly dividend to 20 cents a share from 19 cents. That’s a 5% boost.
The company’s various products include pumps and water supply products. 2021 will mark the 45th straight year in which the company has had a dividend increase. The stock, which yields 1.6%, has returned about 13% this year.
Campbell Soup (CPB) plans to boost its quarterly disbursement by 2 cents, or nearly 6%, to 37 cents a share. The stock, whose year-to-date return is around minus 1%, yields 3.1%.
Animal-health care company Zoetis (ZTS) declared a quarterly dividend of 25 cents a share, a 25% increase from 20 cents. The stock, which has returned about 20% this year, yields 0.6%.
Pharmaceutical firm Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) said it will pay a quarterly dividend of 49 cents, versus 45 cents currently, for a 9% increase. The stock, which has returned about minus 2% this year, yields 3%.
Another pharmaceutical firm, Pfizer (PFE), announced that it will hike its quarterly payout by a penny to 39 cents a share. The stock yields 3.6%; it has returned about 15% in 2020.
Morgan Stanley analyst David Risinger observed that “investors should expect annual dividend increases at a slower pace than in recent years,” as Barron’s reported last month.
The dividend move would be in conjunction with the company’s decision to spin off its slower-growing Upjohn products and combine them with pharmaceutical firm Mylan to form Viatris (VTRS), as Barron’s noted.
Chip maker and software infrastructure supplier Broadcomm (AVGO) declared a quarterly payout of $3.60 a share, up nearly 11% from $3.25 currently. The stock, which yields 3.2%, has a total return of about 32% this year.
Mastercard (MA) is planning to boost its quarterly disbursement by 10% to 44 cents a share from 40 cents. The stock, which yields 0.5%, has returned about 10% this year. The company’s board also authorized the company to repurchase up to $6 billion of its class A common stock.
Carrier Global (CARR) said it will hike its quarterly dividend by 50% to 12 cents a share from 8 cents. The stock, which yields 0.9%, was spun out of United Technologies, as it was known, in April. The stock has returned more than 100% since early April. United Technologies is now Raytheon Technologies (RTX).
Carrier’s portfolio includes products related to heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration.
Centerpoint Energy (CNP), a utility based in Houston, declared a quarterly dividend of 16 cents a share, up from 15 cents, for a 6.7% boost. In early April, the company slashed its quarterly payout from 29 cents a share to 15 cents, one of the few utilities to make such a move.
At around that time, Enable Midstream Partners (ENBL), in which CenterPoint held a majority stake, announced a 50% distribution reduction for its common units. CenterPoint, which yields 2.8%, has returned about minus 18% this year.
Another utility, Dominion Energy (DE), recently announced it was slashing its quarterly dividend by 33% to 63 cents a share as part of retooling its portfolio of assets. That includes selling most of its natural gas transmission and storage assets to Berkshire Hathaway Energy for nearly $10 billion, including the assumption of nearly $6 billion of debt.
Write to Lawrence C. Strauss at [email protected]
