8 Companies Increasing Dividends Last Week

The total number of companies increasing dividends last week was slightly smaller than it's been over the past month; however, this week's batch of income-generating equities contains some of the biggest names on the marquee. The hands-down winner in the premier dividend sweepstakes this week is venerable retailer Walmart (NYSE: WMT ). The discount behemoth upped its quarterly dividend by 21%, increasing the payout to 36.50 per share. The new dividend is payable on Apr. 4 to shareholders of record on March 11. The new largess to shareholders of the world's largest retailer came along with the company's reported 27% increase in fourth-quarter net income. Walmart said it benefited from cost-cutting and strong sales overseas. The only fly in the earnings ointment was the company's U.S. operations, which fell for the seventh consecutive quarter. So, what other big names raised dividends last week?  Here are seven dividend divas sharing the spoils of victory. Big 5 Sporting Goods (NASDAQ: BGFV ). The retailer upped its quarterly dividend big time, upping the payout to 75 cents a share from 5 cents a share. The new cash dividend will be paid on March 22 to shareholders of record as on March 8. News of the new payout came along with better-than-expected fourth-quarter EPS of 25 cents, which was better than consensus Street estimates for 23 cents per share. The numbers were lower than the same quarter a year ago, however there was also one less week in the quarter this year, which materially affected revenue. Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN ). The natural gas provider fired up its quarterly payout, raising its dividend by about 6%. The new payout of 17 cents per share will be made on June 30 to shareholders of record as of June 15. In February, the company said fourth-quarter earnings dipped 16%; however, the numbers did best analysts' expectations. Fred's Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED ). The discount general merchandise retailer raised its dividend by 25% to 5 cents per share from 4 cents. The new dividend is payable on March 15 to shareholders of record as of March 10. The company's announcement came along with a 2% rise in February sales to $153.6 million from $150.6 million in the same four-week period a year ago. The company, which operates 676 discount general merchandise stores, including 24 franchised Fred's stores, also reported comparable store sales in February rose 0.9%. General Dynamics (NYSE: GD ). The defense contractor and maker of Gulfstream jets upped its quarterly dividend to 47 cents per share, which represents a 12% increase from the current payout of 42 cents per share. The defense giant will send out the new dividend ordinance on May 6 to shareholders of record as of April 8. The last time General Dynamics raised its dividend this much was back in 1993. Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE: THG ). The company, which offers a variety of property and casualty insurance products, took steps to insure that shareholders are pleased by upping its quarterly dividend. The new payout of 27.5 cents per share represents a 10% increase over the current dividend. The increased dividend is payable March 29 to shareholders of record as of March 15. Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD ). Canada's second-biggest bank upped its quarterly payout to 66 Canadian cents a share from 61 Canadian cents a share. Canada's banking regulators were instructed to put dividend increases on hold during the financial tumult caused by the Great Recession, but last fall those restrictions on dividends were lifted. The new payout will be made on April 30 to shareholders of record on April 5. The new dividend came in concert with the banks better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter profit. Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN ). The hotelier checked in with a quarterly dividend upgrade to 15 cents per share from the previous payout of 12 cents. The new dividend will be occupied on March 25 to shareholders of record as of March 10. In February, Wyndham reported a 6.9% increase in fourth-quarter earnings as the lodging company's hotel and time-share businesses continued to recover from the weak demand it saw in 2009. At the time of publication, Jim Woods held no positions in any of the stocks mentioned in this article.
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