Third-Quarter Dividend Champions

As noted by Standard & Poor's, the second-quarter highlighted a continued trend of increased dividend payouts to shareholders. For the quarter, 444 of the 7000-plus publicly owned companies raised their dividends, as opposed to just 21 that reduced their payouts. Although the number of dividend-paying companies remained constant from the first quarter at 39.3%, yields were once again on the rise, hitting an average of 2.51%. Shareholders received what is essentially an 11% raise over last year based on reported payouts through the first half of 2011. For those with a long-term investment horizon, the compounding growth that many of these dividend-paying stocks offer can truly be staggering. It’s for that reason that every three months I pay credence to seven companies which have gone above and beyond the call of duty for their shareholders. Here are my seven third-quarter dividend champions.... Read more