Thursday, September 22, 2011

6 Tech Stocks With A History of Growing Their Dividends


When you hear the words "tech stocks", many investors think back to the tech bubble in the late 90s. A company's goal then was to plow back every penny into the business and grow the business. The entire focus was on capital gains. During this era companies that paid dividends were looked down on as inferior.

Like our teenage years, everything was fast and furious as tech companies grew with seemingly no bounds. Eventually, however, we all mature and transition into another phase of life. The same has occurred with many of the tech companies. Consider Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC).

When MSFT and INTC were formed they paid no dividend. Instead they funneled all their cash back into growing the business. As they matured and growth slowed, each began to pay a very nominal dividend. Today, these companies and industries are mature and their rising yields reflect it, with MSFT paying 3.1% and INTC paying 3.8%.

This week week, I screened my dividend growth stocks database for Technology companies with a yield at or above 1.5% and that have increased their dividends for at least 8 consecutive years. The results are presented below:

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)
Yield: 1.5% | Years of Dividend Growth: 16
IBM global capabilities include information technology services, software, computer hardware equipment, fundamental research, and related financing.

Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI)
Yield: 1.7% | Years of Dividend Growth: 19
Badger Meter Inc. is a leading manufacturer and marketer of products incorporating liquid flow measurement and control technologies developed both internally and with other technology companies.

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
Yield: 2.4% | Years of Dividend Growth: 8
Microsoft, the world's largest software company, develops PC software, including the Windows operating system and the Office application suite.

Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC)
Yield: 3.9% | Years of Dividend Growth: 18
Linear Technology Corporation manufactures high-performance linear integrated circuits.

Intel Corporation (INTC)
Yield: 3.8% | Years of Dividend Growth: 8
Intel Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of microprocessors, the central processing units of PCs, and also produces other semiconductor products.

Watsco, Inc. (WSO)
Yield: 3.9% | Years of Dividend Growth: 10
Watsco Inc. is the largest U.S. distributor of air-conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment, and related products.

As with past screens, the data presented above is in its raw form. Some of the the companies would be disqualified for poor dividend fundamentals. However some of the others may be worth additional due diligence.

My database, D4L-Data, is an Open Office spreadsheet containing more than 20 columns of information on the 210+ companies that I track. The data is sortable and has built-in buttons and macros to make it easy to use. Companies included in the list are those that have had a history of dividend growth. The D4L-Data spreadsheet is a part of D4L-Premium Services and is updated each Saturday for subscribers.

Full Disclosure: Long INTC. See a list of all my dividend growth holdings here.

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(Photo Credit)

Tags: [WSO] [INTC] [LLTC] [MSFT] [BMI] [IBM]