Dividend Increases, March 16-31, 2014

Time again to report on dividend increases announced for stocks in my watch list during the past two weeks. I compile this information to see if any of the stocks I own in DivGro has raised dividend payments so I can make yield on cost (YoC) adjustments and properly track DivGro's projected annual dividend income. Another reason is to review dividend increases for stocks I don't own.

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

Dividend Increases: Mar 16 - Mar 31, 2014

Company	Ticker	Price (Feb 28)	Previous Dividend	New Dividend	Current Yield	%Increase
UNS Energy Corp	UNS	60.03	1.74	1.92	3.20%	+10.34
Raytheon Company	RTN	98.79	2.20	2.42	2.45%	+10.00
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.	APD	119.04	2.84	3.08	2.59%	+8.45
W.P. Carey Inc.	WPC	60.07	3.48	3.58	5.96%	+2.87
Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC	VNR	29.77	2.49	2.52	8.46%	+1.20

Previous post: Dividend Increases: Mar 1 - Mar 15, 2014

I own shares in the highlighted stock, VNR, a limited liability company focused on the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company declared a new distribution of 21¢ per share, payable on April 14, to unit holders of record on March 28. The new monthly distribution represents an increase of 1.2%, which raises DivGro's projected annual dividend income by $5.40.

Three increases announced in this period top 7%:

• UNS Energy Corp (UNS) | growth 15 yrs | yield 3.20% @ $60.03 | 5-yr CAGR 12.6%
UNS is a holding company, with subsidiaries that provide electric power and natural gas to customers in Arizona. The company is being acquired by Fortis. The board of directors of UNS declared a first quarter dividend of 48¢ per share, an increase of 10.34%. The dividend is payable on March 25, to stockholders of record on March 13.

• Raytheon Company (RTN) | growth 9 yrs | yield 2.45% @ $98.79 | 5-yr CAGR 14.4%
RTN is a technology company that specializes in defense and related programs for domestic and international customers. On March 19, the company increased its quarterly dividend by 10% to 60.5¢ per share. The dividend is payable on May 1, to shareholders of record on April 2. 

• Air Products & Chemicals (APD) | growth 31 yrs | yield 2.59% @ $119.04 | 5-yr CAGR 10.3%
APD has products, services and solutions related to atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, and performance materials and equipment. On March 20, 2014, the company increased its quarterly dividend by 8.45% to 77¢ a share. The dividend is payable on May 12, 2014, to shareholders of record on April 1, 2014.

All three these stocks offer strong 5-yr compound annual growth rates. I'm not recommending these stocks, but encourage readers to do their own research before buying shares.