August 2018 Dividend Champions List

I took upon myself to update the list of dividend champions, after the untimely passing of David Fish two months ago. While there are other users updating the list, I find it helpful to be self-reliant, because I do not know how long they will keep updating it for. I use the list of dividend champions very often, which is why it is helpful to own the updates on my end, and then have a reliable source for my screening and monitoring process. I am not monitoring the list of dividend contenders and challengers at this time.

I use the streak of consecutive annual dividend increases, along with the historical rates of annual dividend growth. I sometimes even review the annual dividend payments going as far back as 1999, in order to verify whether the streak of annual dividend increases listed is accurate.

I discussed briefly the process I use to update the list of dividend champions in the last months update. By using a combination of data pulls from Yahoo Finance, references to my weekly reviews, and notification for companies that “should be raising their dividend” this time of the year, I was able to make some updates. This is a labor intensive process, and I find it hard to automate it.

I titled the last file June 2018 Dividend Champions, because it was as of June 29, 2018. Some readers believed that it was for June and not July. So to avoid any confusion, I will call this list August 2018 Dividend Champions list. The list shows updated information on the number of dividend champions as of July 31, 2018. Therefore, it shows the list of dividend champions for August 2018.

You can open the excel file from this location.

We have one new dividend champion added for this month.

Aptar Group (ATR) – after a 6.70% increase in the quarterly dividend to 32 cents/share. 25 years in a row.

We have no dividend champions removed however. Tenant (TNC) company is in jeopardy of being removed from the list of dividend champions, since it hasn’t raised distributions since 2016.

There were a few notable dividend increases over the past month from the list of dividend champions.
Those include the following companies, their ticker, the rate of most recent increase and consecutive streak of annual dividend increases.

Aqua America (WTR) – a 7% increase in its quarterly dividend to 21.90 cents/share. Aqua America has increased dividends for 26 years in a row.

Computer Services Inc. (CSVI) – a 16.10% increase in its quarterly dividend to 36 cents/share. Computer Services has raised dividends for 47 years in a row.

Medtronic (MDT) – a 8.70% increase in its quarterly dividend to 50 cents/share. It was announced in June. Medtronic has rewarded shareholders with annual raises for 41 years in a row.

Realty Income (O) – increase monthly dividend to 22 cents/share. Realty Income has increased dividends for 25 years in a row.

1st Source Corp. (SRCE) – a 4.20% increase in the quarterly dividend to 25 cents/share, which is the second this year. 31 years in a row.

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) – a 4.80% raise in its quarterly dividend to 66 cents/share. The company is also a dividend king after raising dividends for 51 years in a row.

PPG Industries (PPG) – a 6.70% increase in its quarterly dividend to 48 cents/share. PPG Industries has raised dividends to shareholders for 47 years in a row

National Retail Properties (NNN) – a 5.30% increase in its quarterly dividend to 50 cents/share. National Retail Properties has a 29 year streak of consecutive annual dividend increases.

Relevant Articles:

- Dividend Champions List For June 2018
- Five Companies Committed to Increasing Returns To Shareholders
- Three Dividend Growth Stocks Rewarding Shareholders With A Raise
- Two Notable Dividend Increases To Consider
- Seven Dividend Paying Companies Rewarding Shareholders With A Raise