Dividend Increases, Apr/May 2013

It is mid-month and time again to update my watch list of dividend growth stocks to reflect current yields. With the market steaming higher, current yields are compressing. Since April 15, the market increased 4.40% (as measured by the S&P 500) and by 2.76% (as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average).

Dividend increases tend to counterbalance the influence of a rising market on current yields. When a company increases its dividend payment, its current yield increases. How much the yield changes depends on the size of the dividend increase and on the market's reaction to the increase. If the market response is positive, the stock's price would increase and so limit the increase in current yield. 

The following table provides a summary of recent dividend increases for stocks in my watch list, sorted by the last column, %Increase. Dividend amounts are annualized. 

Dividend Increases: Apr 15 - May 15, 2013

Company	Ticker	Price (May 15)	Previous Dividend	New Dividend	Current Yield	%Increase
Wells Fargo & Company	WFC	39.30	1.00	1.20	3.05%	+20.00
Ameriprise Financial Inc.	AMP	81.54	1.80	2.08	2.55%	+15.56
Safeway Inc.	SWY	25.47	0.70	0.80	3.14%	+14.29
Chevron Corporation	CVX	123.01	3.60	4.00	3.25%	+11.11
Northrop Grumman Corp	NOC	79.43	2.20	2.44	3.07%	+10.91
Exxon Mobil Corporation	XOM	91.24	2.28	2.52	2.76%	+10.53
Travelers Companies	TRV	87.78	1.84	2.00	2.28%	+8.70
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	87.64	2.44	2.64	3.01%	+8.20
CSX Corp.	CSX	25.90	0.56	0.60	2.32%	+7.14
Procter & Gamble Co.	PG	80.68	2.25	2.41	2.98%	+7.03
Reynolds American Inc.	RAI	49.29	2.36	2.52	5.11%	+6.78
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation	CPK	54.95	1.46	1.54	2.80%	+5.48
Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P.	SXL	62.94	2.18	2.29	3.64%	+5.05
Southside Bancshares Inc.	SBSI	21.88	0.76	0.80	3.66%	+4.99
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company	DD	55.55	1.72	1.80	3.24%	+4.65
Southern Company	SO	46.66	1.96	2.03	4.35%	+3.57
Kinder Morgan, Inc.	KMI	40.20	1.48	1.52	3.78%	+2.70
Omega Healthcare Investors Inc.	OHI	36.54	1.80	1.84	5.04%	+2.22
Energy Transfer Equity, L.P.	ETE	59.31	2.54	2.58	4.35%	+1.57
Peoples's United Financial Inc.	PBCT	13.84	0.64	0.65	4.70%	+1.56
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP	KMP	89.17	5.16	5.20	5.83%	+0.78
Exelon Corp.	EXC	35.19	2.10	1.24	3.52%	-40.95

Highlighted in the table is CVX, one of the stocks in DivGro. The next cash dividend payment is scheduled to be paid on June 10, 2013.

Full Disclosure: Long CVX