It was a busy week for the Dividend Aristocrats, as 10 of them announced dividend events including six that increased their quarterly dividends.

Photo by: Simon Shek via Flickr

Following up last week’s dividend increase announcement by Pepsico, The Coca Cola Company (KO) announced an 8.9% increase in its quarterly dividend from 28 cents to 30.5 cents per share.  This is Coca Cola’s 52^nd consecutive year of dividend increases.  The increased dividend is payable on April 1^st to shareholders of record on March 14^th and, at Coca Cola’s current price represents a yield of 3.28%. The 8.9% increase this year compares to Coca Cola’s 2013 dividend increase of 9.8%.

Paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams (SHW) raised its quarterly dividend by 10% from 50 cents to 55 cents.  At Sherwin-Williams current price, the new dividend will yield 1.14%.  The first increased dividend is payable on March 14^th to shareholders of record on March 3^rd.  This is Sherwin-Williams’ 36^th consecutive year of dividend increases.

Walmart (WMT), the world’s largest retailer, increased its dividend for the 41^st consecutive year.  The new quarterly dividend is an increase of 1 cent, or 2.1%, to 48 cents.  The first instance of the increased dividend will be paid on April 1^st to shareholders of record on March 11^th.  Walmart also announced their dividend payment schedule for their 2015 fiscal year.  Additional larger dividend payments will be made on June 2^nd 2014, Sept 3^rd 2014 and Jan 5^th 2015 to shareholders of record on May 9^th 2014, Aug 8^th 2014 and Dec 5^th 2014, respectively.  At Walmart’s current price, the new yield is 2.63%.

Financial services company T. Rowe Price (TROW) increased their quarterly dividend by 15.8%, from 38 cents to 44 cents per share.  This is T. Rowe Price’s 28^th consecutive year of regular dividend increases.  The increased dividend, which represents an annual yield of 2.20%, is payable on March 28^th to shareholders of record on March 14^th.

Auto parts company Genuine Parts Company (GPC) increased their regular quarterly dividend by 6.98%, from 53.75 to 57.5 cents per share.  This is Genuine Parts’ 58^th consecutive annual dividend increase, making it a Dividend Aristocrat with one of the longest record of dividend increases.  The dividend is payable on April 1^st to shareholders of record on March 7^th.  At the annual rate of $2.30, the stock currently yields 2.64%.

Abbott Labs spinoff and biopharmaceutical company AbbVie (ABBV) announced a 5% increase in their quarterly dividend, payable on May 15^th to shareholders of record on April 15^th.  With the new annual dividend of $1.68, AbbVie’s current yield is 3.29%.  This is the first time that AbbVie increased its dividends, which started when AbbVie was spun off from Abbott Labs at the beginning of 2013.  AbbVie inherited its status as a Dividend Aristocrat from Abbott Laboratories, which has a 42 year record of dividend increases.  S&P treats AbbVie as a Dividend Aristocrat, but investors should be aware of the distinction.

And speaking of Abbott Laboratories (ABT), they announced their regular quarterly dividend of 22 cents per share, payable on May 15^th to shareholders of record on April 15^th.  This is the 361^st consecutive quarterly dividend that Abbott Labs has paid out and as mentioned above, Abbott Labs has increased their regular dividend for 42 consecutive years.  The annual payout of 88 cents translates into a current yield of 2.27%.

Three other Dividend Aristocrats declared regular quarterly dividend payouts this week as well:

Steel maker Nucor (NUE) declared their latest regular quarterly dividend of 37 cents per share, payable on May 12^th to shareholders of record on March 31^st.  This is Nucor’s 164^th consecutive quarterly dividend over the last 41 years.  Nucor’s current yield is 2.94%.

Tooling company Stanley, Black & Decker (SWK) declared a regular dividend of 50 cents for the first quarter.  The dividend is payable on March 18^th to shareholders of record on March 5^th.  The $2.00 annual dividend gives Stanley, Black & Decker a current yield of 2.45%.

Finally, food wholesaler and services company Sysco Corporation (SYY) announced a regular quarterly dividend of 29 cents, payable on April 25^th to shareholders of record on April 4^th.  This is the 45^th consecutive year of dividend increases for Sysco.  With an annual payout of $1.16, the shares now yield 3.22%.