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Strategies & Market Trends : Dividend investing for retirement -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Triffin who wrote (12683)	9/20/2012 5:19:57 PM
From: Bocor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 34328

McDonald's ( MCD) declares $0.77/share quarterly dividend, 10% increase from prior dividend of $0.70. Forward yield 3.31%.

To: Triffin who wrote (12683)	9/21/2012 5:54:14 PM
From: Triffin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 34328

Call it payout fever.. ===== This week, eight Standard & Poor’s 500 Index SPX companies announced increased dividend payouts, while another put a number to its previously announced plan to do so, as firms try to put to work some of the near-record heaps of cash they’re holding. The announcements came after record payout amounts last month and further establish 2012 as the best year for dividends since at least 2003 in both cash amounts and number of increases. On Thursday afternoon, McDonald’s Corp. MCD , Covidien PLC COV , Texas Instruments Inc. TXN and Yum Brands Inc. YUM all announced increases; before Thursday’s market open, ConAgra Foods Inc. CAG said it would raise its dividend. Earlier in the week, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Host Hotels & Resorts Inc HST and American Tower REIT AMT said they would hike their payouts. Fifth Third Bancorp FITB on Tuesday confirmed previously announced plans to raise its next dividend payout. The increases come during one of the most dividend-friendly markets in years. On the S&P 500, 403 companies are currently paying dividends, the most since November 1999, and August saw a record $34 billion in cash payments, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard and Poor’s. So far in 2012 there have been about 250 increases, ahead of last year’s pace, when there was 242 through the first nine months, and the best since at least 2003, according to data from Silverblatt. Dividend yields for the S&P 500 have risen to about 2.2% from 1.9% in 2010. “Given underlying fundamentals, low payouts and cash reserves, 2012 should set a record high for cash dividend payments, 16% above that of 2011,” said Silverblatt in a note. Despite those numbers, there may be more to come. The current ratio of dividends to net income per share is about 30%, said Alec Young, global equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ. In Europe, by contrast, that figure is 50% to 60%. “There’s a lot of room for growth,” said Young. ===== Triff ..