8 Stocks Heating Up Their Yields With Higher Dividends

Dividends from a quality, well-diversified portfolio are much more predictable than capital gains and best of all, they are passive. You don't have to do anything, they just show up in your brokerage account each quarter. Inflation? Not to worry, the good companies routinely raise their dividends well in excess of the inflation rate.This week as the weather turns cold, the dividend increases heat up with several companies raising their cash dividends:Microchip Technology Incorporated (Nasdaq: MCHP) develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products for various embedded control applications. October 30th the company increased its quarterly dividend 0.1% to $0.3565 per share. The dividend is payable December 5, 2014 to stockholders of record on November 21, 2014, with an ex-dividend date of November 19, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.5%.STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE: STAG) is a real estate investment trust investing in the U.S. real estate market. October 30th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2.3% to $0.1125 per share. The dividend is payable February 17, 2014 to stockholders of record on January 30, 2014, with an ex-dividend date of January 28, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 5.6%.The Empire District Electric Company (NYSE: EDE) is engaged in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. October 30th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2% to $0.26 per... Read more