IBM’s business has been struggling, but the dividend has been consistently raised. Here, IBM engineers assemble the IBM z15.
Courtesy of IBM
IBM, NextEra Energy, and West Pharmaceutical Services can now boast about a new club membership: the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats.
The 65 members of the Aristocrats have paid out a higher dividend for at least 25 straight years.
Three companies were removed from the list, including Raytheon Technologies (ticker: RTX), which merged last April with United Technologies, a longtime Aristocrat. Two companies that were spun off by United Technologies—Carrier Global (CARR) and Otis Worldwide (OTIS)—were removed from the Aristocrats as well.
IBM (IBM) yields 5.5% with a one-year return of about minus 11%—evidence of the struggles the company has had with revenue growth as it tries to reset its business with more emphasis on cloud computing.
In April 2020, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.63 a share, up by a penny, or less than 1%.
NextEra Energy (NEE) was also added to the group. The company’s assets include Florida Power & Light, a regulated utility operating in a state with attractive population growth, as well as a large renewable-energy business, notably solar and wind power.
The stock, which yields 1.7%, has a one-year return of about 32%.
In February 2020, the company declared a quarterly disbursement of 35 cents a share, up 12% from 31.25 cents.
West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) was also added to the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. The stock, which yields 0.2%, has a one-year return of nearly 100%.
The company makes and markets pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines and consumer health products, according to FactSet.
Write to Lawrence C. Strauss at [email protected]
