The 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are expected on average to increase their annualized dividend payout by 8.4 percent for the first quarter from a year earlier, according to a survey by Dow Jones Indexes.
The dividend gain is expected to register 2.18 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011.
The 30 companies are expected to dole out $107 billion in dividends for the year started April 1, compared to $98.7 a year earlier and $104.7 billion a quarter earlier.
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So far this year, six of the DJIA 30 have boosted their dividends: Cisco Systems, by 33 percent; JPMorgan Chase by 20 percent; Pfizer, by 10 percent; Wal-Mart Stores, by 9 percent; Coca-Cola by 9 percent; and 3M, by 7 percent.
Cisco shares have a yield of 1.6 percent, JPMorgan a yield of 2.8 percent, Pfizer a yield of 3.9 percent, Wal-Mart a yield of 2.7 percent, Coke a yield of 2.8 percent, and 3M a yield of 2.7 percent.
With 10-year Treasury notes yielding only 1.96 percent, and 30-year Treasurys yielding only 3.08 percent, many experts recommend blue-chip dividend stocks over Treasurys.
The dividend stocks can provide greater income than Treasurys, especially if you choose companies that increase their dividends.
And dividend stocks may well provide you with capital gains, while bonds are more likely to provide capital losses, given that yields are near record lows.
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