Dividend Increases, February 16-28, 2014

With February behind us, I'd like to report on dividend increases announced for stocks in my watch list the past two weeks.

My mid-month post on dividend increases reported no less than 27 increases, ten of which were above 7%! In the present low-interest environment, this is a remarkable accomplishment and one of the main reasons why I find dividend growth investing so fascinating. The fact that I don't own a single share of any of the ten biggest increasers in DivGro is a matter that needs some attention...

The reason I spend time to compile this information is to monitor dividend increases for stocks I own in DivGro so that I can make yield on cost (YoC) adjustments. Of course, for other stocks in my watch list, reviewing dividend increases helps to identify new opportunities.

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

Dividend Increases: Feb 16 - Feb 28, 2014

Company	Ticker	Price (Feb 28)	Previous Dividend	New Dividend	Current Yield	%Increase
The Home Depot, Inc.	HD	82.03	1.56	1.88	2.29%	+20.51
T. Rowe Price Group Inc	TROW	81.17	1.52	1.76	2.17%	+15.79
Time Warner Cable Inc	TWC	140.35	2.60	3.00	2.14%	+15.38
Lorillard Inc.	LO	49.06	2.20	2.46	5.01%	+11.82
UNS Energy Corp	UNS	60.51	1.74	1.92	3.17%	+10.34
Toronto-Dominion Bank (USA)	TD	45.33	1.72	1.88	4.15%	+9.30
The Coca-Cola Company	KO	38.20	1.12	1.22	3.19%	+8.93
Analog Devices, Inc.	ADI	50.82	1.36	1.48	2.91%	+8.82
Xcel Energy Inc	XEL	30.29	1.12	1.20	3.96%	+7.14
Genuine Parts Company	GPC	88.09	2.15	2.30	2.61%	+6.98
NorthWestern Corp	NWE	45.94	1.52	1.60	3.48%	+5.26
AbbVie Inc	ABBV	50.91	1.60	1.68	3.30%	+5.00
Sempra Energy	SRE	94.47	2.52	2.64	2.79%	+4.76
Kimberly Clark Corp	KMB	110.35	3.24	3.36	3.04%	+3.70
SCANA Corporation	SCG	49.50	2.03	2.10	4.24%	+3.45
Smith & Nephew plc (ADR)	SNN	79.64	1.30	1.34	1.68%	+3.08
Westar Energy Inc	WR	34.22	1.36	1.40	4.09%	+2.94
Waste Management, Inc.	WM	41.50	1.46	1.50	3.61%	+2.74
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.	WMT	74.70-	1.88	1.92	2.57%	+2.13
Old Republic International Corp	ORI	15.56	0.72	0.73	4.69%	+1.39
Sturm, Ruger & Company	RGR	63.74	2.32	2.16	3.39%	-6.90

Previous post: Dividend Increases: Feb 1 - Jan 15, 2014

I don't own shares in any of the companies that raised their dividends during this period. 

Nine of twenty increases announced in this period top 7%, which is quite impressive. Here are details of the double digit percentage increasers:

• The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) | growth 5 yrs | yield 2.29% @ $82.03 | 5-yr CAGR 11.6%
Founded in 1978, HD operates as a home improvement retailer. The company increased its quarterly dividend by 20.51% to 47¢ per share. The dividend is payable on March 27, to stockholders of record on March 13. The ex-dividend date is March 11. 

• T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) | growth 5 yrs | yield 2.29% @ $82.03 | 5-yr CAGR 11.6%
TROW is a financial services holding company providing global investment management services through its subsidiaries. On February 19, the company increased its quarterly dividend by 15.79% to 44¢ per share. The dividend is payable on March 28, to stockholders of record on March 14. The ex-dividend date is March 12. 

• Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC) | growth 5 yrs | yield 2.14% @ $140.35 | 3-yr CAGR 17.6%
TWC is a provider of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States. The company recently agreed to be acquired by Comcast Corp. TWC will pay shareholders 75¢ per share on March 17, an increase of 15.38%. TWC is already trading ex-dividend. 

• Lorillard Inc. (LO) | growth 7 yrs | yield 5.01% @ $49.06 | 5-yr CAGR 29.1%
Founded in 1760, LO is the oldest continuously operating tobacco company in the United States. The company increased its quarterly dividend by 11.82% to 61.5¢ per share, payable March 10. LO is already trading ex-dividend.

• UNS Energy Corp (UNS) | growth 15 yrs | yield 3.17% @ $60.51 | 5-yr CAGR 12.6%
UNS is a Tucson, Arizona-based company with consolidated assets of about $4 billion. The company increased its quarterly dividend by 10.34% to 48¢ per share, payable March 27. The ex-dividend date is March 12. 

RGR's decrease continues a trend that started with a dividend decrease in November 2013. Although, RGR could yet retain its streak of annual dividend increases, by announcing larger quarterly dividend payments later this year, I'm removing it from my watch list.

Do you own shares (or plan to buy shares) of the top five dividend increasers on this list?