Dividend Stocks 2014: 25 New Increases for Yield Seekers

Dividend stocks update: One of the many advantages of dividend-paying stocks is that they provide investors with consistent income.

Wharton School professor and famous investment book author Jeremy Siegel has found that up until the early 1990s, roughly three-quarters of the real return from the stock market came from dividends, compared to just one quarter from capital gains.

Dividends are also a reliable indicator of a company's health. It's a healthy sign if a company rewards shareholders with dividends and still has cash for expansion and capital investments. It also suggests management is focused on shareholders' best interest.

Last week, some 62 companies boosted payouts, bringing the total number of dividend increases over the first two weeks this month to 135. Following are the 25 most notable dividend increases for the week ending Feb. 14.

25 Dividend-Paying Stocks That Just Hiked Their Payouts

Alliance Bernstein Holdings (NYSE: AB) raised its dividend 50% to $0.60 a share for a 9.19% yield.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) increased its dividend 25% to $0.125 a share for a near 1% yield.

AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) upped its semi-annual payout 111% to $1.90 a share for a new yield of 4.15%.

Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) boosted its dividend 252% to $0.23 a share. The stock's yield is 2.42%.

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Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) goosed its dividend $0.02, or 12%, to $0.19 a share for a 3.3% yield. This marks the fourth increase since the world's No. 1 provider of computer networking equipment initiated disbursements in March 2011 at $0.06 a share.

Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) hiked its dividend 13.6% to $0.25 a share for a 1.26% yield.

FLIR Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: FLIR) fattened its distribution 11% to $0.10 a share for a 1.29% yield.

Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) increased its dividend $0.03 to $0.43 a share. The 7.5% increase gives shares a 3.26% yield. The increase is the top toy manufacturers' fifth straight annual dividend hike.

J2Global Inc. (Nasdaq: JCOM) boosted its payout a penny to $0.26 a share for a 2.08% yield.

L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LLL) hiked its dividend a nickel to $0.60 a share for a yield of 2.11%.

Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) raised its payout 15.6% to $0.37 a share for a 2.69% yield.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) increased its dividend 12.5% to $0.72 a share for a 2.67% yield.

Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) declared its first dividend in 14 years. The producer of residential and commercial building materials will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.16 a share for a yield of 1.5%.

Owens & Minor Inc. (NYSE: OMI) boosted its payout a penny to $0.25 a share for a near 3% yield.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) increased its payout 15.4% to $0.65 a share for a near 3% yield. The 98-year-old maker of sodas, Tropicana juices, and Frito Lay snacks has paid uninterrupted dividends since 1952. This is the Purchase, N.Y., company's 42nd consecutive annual payout increase.

Primerca Inc. (NYSE: PRI) boosted its payout 9% to $0.12 a share for a yield of 1.09%.

Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) raised its dividend $0.04 to $0.67 a share for a 5.56% yield.

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Robert Half Intl Inc. (NYSE: RHI) increased its payout 9% to $0.18 a share for a 1.78% yield.

Sanofi SA ADR (NYSE: SNY) sweetened its annual payout 6.5% to $1.90 a share for a yield of 3.8%.

Scripps Networks Inter Inc. (NYSE: SNI) raised its dividend a nickel to $0.20 a share for a yield approaching 1%.

Teva Pharmaceuticals ADS (NYSE: TEVA) increased its dividend by 4% to $0.34 a share for a yield just shy of 3%.

Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp. (NYSE: TYG) hiked its dividend to $0.57 a share for a fresh yield of 5.26%.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) upped its dividend a nickel to $0.67 a share for a 2.55% yield.

Weingarten Realty Inv. (NYSE: WRI) boosted its dividend 6.6% to $0.32 a share for a yield of 4.07%.

Xilinx Inc. (Nasdaq: XLNX) raised its dividend 16% to $0.29 a share for a 2.33% yield. Xilinx is the world's leading supplier of programmable logic chips, and this is its ninth boost since it began paying dividends a decade ago at a nickel a share.

Precious metals may get the most attention, but industrial metals do all the really hard work... and it's about to pay off. This "workhorse" metal is poised for a profit breakout.

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