Last week, when all eyes were on the politicians who were working on the financial bailout, many companies were coming out with great news: dividend increases. The companies that raised their dividends included technology and food companies.
Stockpickr reviewed the list of dividend declarations and compiled a portfolio of the top dividend-increasers for the week.
One of the stocks that bumped up its dividend is Lockheed Martin (LMT), which raised the quarterly payout by an amazing 36% to 57 cents per share. This aerospace, defense and technology company also decided to increase its buyback authorization by 30 million shares. The company has already bought 113.9 million shares since 2002. The stock has a P/E of 15, a PEG of 1.21 and a yield of 1.6%.
Lockheed is one of the stocks favored by Renaissance Technologies, a New York-based hedge fund founded by Jim Simons in 1982. Its Medallion Fund has had an average annual return of 38%, after fees, since 1989. It also owns Bank of America (BAC), with a yield of 7.4%; UST (UST), with a yield of 3.8%; and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), with a 1.6% yield.
Another dividend raiser is National Semiconductor (NSM), which moved its quarterly dividend up by 33% to 8 cents per share. The company was just named to the top of InformationWeek's annual list of the nation's best 500 companies for information technology. The stock has a P/E of 14, a PEG of 0.88 and a yield of 1.4%.
National Semi is owned by the Fidelity Value Fund, a four-star Morningstar-rated fund that invests primarily in common stocks of companies that possess valuable fixed assets. The fund has had an average annual return of 17.51% for the last five years. It also holds Xerox (XRX), with a 1.4% yield; Avon Products (AVP), with a 1.9% yield; and Eastman Kodak (EK), with a 3.3% yield.
Campbell Soup (CPB) is another dividend-raiser, increasing its stockholder payout by 14% to 25 cents per share per quarter. It recently reported a quarterly earning increase of 50%, from 16 cents a share to 24 cents per share, exceeding analysts' expectations. The stock has a P/E of 12, a PEG of 2.13 and a yield of 2.3%.
Campbell shows up in the portfolio of the American Century Equity Income Fund, which was in Fortune magazine's 2007 investors guide as one of the seven funds to own in 2007. The fund has had an average annual return of 11.6% over the last five years. It also owns General Electric (GE), with a yield of 4.8%; Exxon Mobil (XOM), with a 2% yield; and Southern (SO), which pays a yield of 4.4%.
For more companies that raised their dividends last week, check out the Dividend-Increasers for the Week portfolio at Stockpickr.com.
Posted on Sept. 30, 2008
