Dividend Increases, August 1-15, 2014

Time again to report on dividend increases announced for stocks in my watch list. One of the stocks I own (WAG) announced a 7.14% increase. As a result, WAG's Yield on Cost (YoC) and DivGro's projected annual dividend income will be adjusted.

I monitor dividend increase announcements as a way to identify new candidates for purchase. When companies announce dividend increases, they show confidence in being able to pay increased dividends. Companies that make aggressive increases pique my interest and I usually take some time to look them over.

Below is the table of dividend increases announced in the first two weeks of August, sorted by the last column, %Increase. Dividend amounts are annualized.

Dividend Increases: August 1-15, 2014

Company	Ticker	Price (Aug 15)	Previous Dividend	New Dividend	Current Yield	%Increase
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.	BR	40.82	0.84	1.08	2.65%	+28.57
Altera Corporation	ALTR	34.03	0.60	0.72	2.12%	+20.00
Murphy Oil Corporation	MUR	60.46	1.25	1.40	2.32%	+12.00
KLA-Tencor Corporation	KLAC	74.07	1.80	2.00	2.70%	+11.11
Aqua America Inc	WTR	24.39	0.61	0.66	2.71%	+8.55
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers	RBA	24.00	0.52	0.56	2.33%	+7.69
Walgreen Company	WAG	61.75	1.26	1.35	2.19%	+7.14
Dover Corp	DOV	87.38	1.50	1.60	1.83%	+6.67
Principal Financial Group Inc	PFG	51.07	1.28	1.36	2.66%	+6.25
Southside Bancshares, Inc.	SBSI	30.22	0.84	0.88	2.91%	+4.76

Previous post: Dividend Increases: July 16-31, 2014

I own shares in WAG:

• Walgreen Company  (WAG)  | growth 38 yrs | yield 2.19% @ $61.75 | 5-yr CAGR 23.24%

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, WAG operates drugstores in more than 8,000 locations across the United States. In addition to selling prescription drugs, the company sells over-the-counter medications, household items, food and beverages, personal and beauty care products, and photofinishing services. Recently, WAG increased its quarterly dividend by 7.14% to 33.75¢ per share, payable on September 12 to shareholders on record on August 18. The increase adds $3.96 to DivGro's projected annual dividend income, while YoC is now 2.38%.

Several stocks I don't own are raising their dividend by more than 7%:

• Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) | growth 7 yrs | yield 2.65% @ $40.82 | 5-yr CAGR 24.57%
BR is a global provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions to banks/broker-dealers, mutual funds and corporate issuers.  BR's board of directors approved an increase in its quarterly dividend to 27¢ per share, an increase of nearly 29%. The dividend is payable on October 1, to shareholders of record on September 15. 

• Altera Corporation (ALTR) | growth 8 yrs | yield 2.12% @ $34.03 | 5-yr CAGR 21.35%
ALTR is a global semiconductor company involved in the design, manufacture, and marketing of high-density programmable logic devices (PLDs), HardCopy ASIC devices and pre-defined design building blocks. Recently, ALTR increased its quarterly dividend to 18¢ per share, to be paid on September 2, to shareholders of record on August 11. The dividend increase is 20%.

• Murphy Oil Corporation (MUR) | growth 17 yrs | yield 2.32% @ $60.46 | 5-yr CAGR 9.07%
MUR is a worldwide oil and gas exploration and production company with retail and wholesale gasoline marketing operations in the U.S. and refining and marketing operations in the U.K. On August 13, the company declared a dividend of 35¢ per share, payable on September 2 to shareholders of record on August 14. The new dividend represents a 12% increase.

• KLA-Tencor Corporation (KLAC) | growth 5 yrs | yield 2.70% @ $74.07 | 5-yr CAGR 23.16%
KLAC is engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related nano-electronics industries. Recently, KLAC increased its annual dividend by about 11% to 50¢ per share. The dividend is payable on September 2, to shareholders of record on August 14. 

• Aqua America Inc (WTR) | growth 22 yrs | yield 2.71% @ $24.39 | 5-yr CAGR 7.44%
WTR is the holding company for regulated utilities providing water or wastewater services to several states in the northeastern and southern United States. The company declared a quarterly dividend of 16.5¢ per share, an increase of more than 8.55% over the prior quarterly dividend. The dividend is payable September 1. 

• Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RBA) | growth 11 yrs | yield 2.33% @ $24.00 | 5-yr CAGR 8.23%
RBA and its subsidiaries sell industrial equipment and other assets at its unreserved auctions worldwide. The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend of 7.69% to 14¢ per share. The dividend is payable September 12 to shareholders of record on August 22.  

I'm not recommending any of these stocks and readers should research these companies before buying shares.

Thanks for reading! Do any of these stocks look interesting to you?