3 Dividend Stocks Boosting Payouts

Long-term bond yields have been less than desirable for a very long time. One of the best alternatives for income seeking investors has been dividend stocks. Large dividend stocks that are boosting their payouts consistently offer better value for investors with a longer horizon. This week three well-known stocks boosted their dividends significantly.

Target boosted its quarterly dividend 21%; its forward dividend yield is now 3.6%. Here is what the press release said: “The board of directors of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has declared a quarterly dividend of 52 cents per common share. The dividend is payable September 10, 2014 to shareholders of record at the close of business August 20, 2014. The 3rd quarter dividend will be the company’s 188th consecutive dividend paid since October 1967 when the company became publicly held.”

The second company in the list is Caterpillar (CAT). “On June 11, 2014, the Board of Directors of Caterpillar Inc. (the “Company”) declared a quarterly cash dividend of seventy cents ($0.70) per share of Company common stock, payable August 20, 2014 to stockholders of record at the close of business on July 21, 2014. The per share dividend of $0.70 is an increase of ten cents from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share,” the company said in an SEC filing. Caterpillar’s forward dividend yield is 2.6%.

The last major company with a recent dividend increase is Best Buy (BBY). Here is what their press release said:

“The Board of Directors of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) has approved an increase in the company’s quarterly cash dividend from $0.17 to $0.19 per common share, an increase of 12%. The change will be effective with the quarterly dividend which, if authorized, would be payable on October 2, 2014 to shareholders of record as of September 11, 2014.

Hubert Joly, Best Buy president and CEO, remarked, “Our decision to increase the amount of cash we are returning to shareholders is indicative of our improved cash position and our confidence in the cash-generating power of our multi-channel business model.”

Best Buy last announced a dividend increase in June 2012, when the Board raised the dividend from $0.16 to $0.17.”