Why Dividend Investing Is Here to Stay

Bring on the dividendsIn its quarterly look at dividend investing, Standard & Poor's found that dividends are on the rise in a major way. A whopping 117 companies -- nearly a quarter of the S&P 500 -- increased or started paying dividends. That's a 50% increase over the number of companies raising dividends during the first quarter of 2010. All told, dividend payments during the quarter rose by a record $16.6 billion. Behind those statistics are a number of interesting trends that reflect a paradigm shift in the way that companies manage their excess cash flow. For instance:... Read more