This Week's Dividend Increases - March 14, 2009

You expect your employer to give you a raise periodically. Why wouldn’t you expect the same from your investments? We all know about the power of compound interest (earning interest on interest) on growing wealth. Compound dividends are much more powerful - they are like compound interest on steroids. Not only are dividends being reinvested, but great dividend companies raise their dividends each year.

Here are a couple companies rewarding their shareholders with increased dividends:

• Piedmont Natural Gas (PNY) Increases Dividend by 3.8% - yield 4.85%
• Warwick Valley Telephone (WWVY) Raises Dividend by 10% - yield 9.78%

Lest we forget the diligent companies the follow through and pay their regular dividends at the appointed time. During the past week several big name companies declared dividends, including:

• Safeway (SWY) $0.0828/share - yield 1.87%
• General Mills (GIS) $0.43/share - yield 3.46%
• Microsoft (MSFT) $0.13/share - yield 3.43% - (Analysis)
  
• Heinz (HNZ) $0.415/share - yield 5.40%
  
• Target (TGT) $0.16/share - yield 2.35% - (Analysis)
• Kraft (KFT) $0.29/share - yield 5.25% - (Analysis)
  

For more companies around the world with a long string of consecutive dividend increases, see Dividends Value's Stock Ideas page.

Full Disclosure: No position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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