Zoetis , Pentair , Johnson Controls International , and Abbott Laboratories were among the many companies that declared dividend increases this week.
Dividend increases have been bringing holiday cheer to investors as companies bounce back from the pandemic and return more capital to shareholders. Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, expects S&P 500 dividends over the next 12 months to total a record $527 billion.
Zoetis (ticker: ZTS), a global animal-health company, declared a quarterly disbursement of 32.5 cents a share, up 30% from 25 cents.
The stock yields 0.6%. As of Dec. 9, it had returned about 40%, dividends included, compared with 26% for the S&P 500.
Manufacturing firm Pentair (PNR) plans to raise its quarterly dividend by a penny, or 5%, to 21 cents a share. The stock, which has returned about 40% this year, yields 1.1%.
Johnson Controls International (JCI), whose portfolio includes building products and transportation systems, plans to boost its quarterly payout to 34 cents a share from 27 cents. That’s a 26% increase.
The stock, which yields 1.7%, has returned a little more than 70% year to date.
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) said it plans to boost its quarterly dividend by a little more than 4% to 47 cents a share from 45 cents. It marks the company’s 50th straight year of dividend growth.
The healthcare company’s portfolio includes nutritional products, medical devices, and diagnostics. The stock, which yields 1.3%, has returned about 23% this year.
CVS Health (CVS) said it will raise its quarterly dividend to 55 cents a share, up 10% from 50 cents. The stock has returned about 46% year to date, and it yields 2%.
This marks the first declared dividend increase for the company since late 2016. That was before CVS Health acquired health insurer Aetna for about $70 billion.
Medical products company Stryker (SYK) declared a quarterly dividend of 69.5 cents a share, up 10% from 63 cents. The stock, which yields 1.1%, has returned about 7% this year.
Carrier Global (CARR) said it will hike its quarterly disbursement to 15 cents a share from 12 cents for a 25% increase. The stock, which has returned about 50% this year, yields 1.1%.
United Technologies , since renamed Raytheon Technologies (RTX), spun off Carrier in 2020.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) is planning to raise its quarterly dividend to $1.15 a share, up 3 cents. The company, structured as a real estate investment trust, owns and operates campuses used by life science, agtech and technology companies. The stock, which yields 2.2%, has a year-to-date return of about 21%.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), a global logistics company and shipper, plans to pay a quarterly dividend of 55 cents a share, an increase of about 8% from 51 cents. The stock, which has returned about 9% in 2021, yields 2%.
Edison International (EIX) said it will increase its quarterly payout to 70 cents a share from 66.25 cents. That’s an increase of more than 5%.
The utility’s stock, which yields 3.9%, has returned about 10% this year. It marks the 18th consecutive annual dividend increase for the company.
Choice Hotels International (CHH) declared a quarterly dividend of 23.75 cents a share, compared with 22.5 cents currently. That’s a 5.5% boost. The company suspended the dividend last year during the pandemic but reinstated it earlier this year at 22.5 cents a share.
The stock has returned about 37% this year, and it yields 0.7%.
Tech company Cerner (CERN) plans to boost its quarterly dividend by 23% to 27 cents a share from 22 cents. The stock, which yields 1.2% has returned about minus 3% year to date.
The company’s products include software to help healthcare companies run their businesses.
Write to Lawrence C. Strauss at [email protected]
