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The Moneygardener submits:Well General Electric (GE), who cut their dividend from C$0.31 per share to C$0.10 per share in early 2009, has now boosted their payout to C$0.12 per share. This 20% increase brings their dividend back to levels last visited in before the turn of the century. Yes, GE shareholders including myself are partying like it's 1999. This increase came earlier than expected as GE had mentioned that they were looking to a dividend hike in 2011. They also announced an extension of their share repurchase program as they are sitting on loads of cash. I'll take a dividend increase any way that I can get one and I remain confident in GE's future. I especially like their involvement with alternative energy and developing market infrastructure. Their high weighting in financial services really hurt them during the financial crisis.Complete Story »

The Moneygardener submits:Scotts Miracle Gro (SMG) is a company which dominates its industry probably more than any other firm that I can think of. I don't post much about the stock, which makes up a very small percentage of my portfolio, but its recent earnings report is worth noting and it came with a special bonus.Scotts reported EPS of $1.80 compared with the street's expectation of C$1.46 and last year's C$1.25. It also raised full year guidance to C$3.25+ from previous guidance of C$3.00-$3.10. The special bonus was that the company stated on a call with analysts that it has a bias toward a share repurchase program and a dividend increase later in the year. This is great news for shareholders as Scotts' dividend has been at the same level since it introduced it in 2005. The stock only yields 1% currently.Complete Story »

The Moneygardener submits:Dairy producer Saputo (SAPIF.PK) has increased its quarterly dividend by a meagre 3.6% to 14.5 cents per share after reporting a flattish quarter on the earnings front.Saputo shares were up 5% Tuesday and the stock now yields 2.3%. The pay out ratio on the actual quarter's EPS was 35%.Complete Story »

The Moneygardener submits:The moneygardener darling, US drugstore chain Walgreen Co. (WAG), has increased its quarterly dividend by 22%. This is the 35th consecutive year that Walgreen has raised its dividend. Walgreen has been growing its dividend at a torrid pace over the past few years. In fact, since 2006 WAG has roughly doubled its dividend.The stock is now yielding only 1.8%, however a purchase during the depths of March, 2009, would have yielded 2.6% on cost. It is interesting that the company is choosing to increase the dividend at such a high rate given the current slowdown in earnings growth. Walgreen's last quarterly earning report was actually down 9% from 2008. The pay out ratio is rising and the company's traditional objective of rewarding shareholders with growth may be shifting to include paying out cash in the form of dividends. Complete Story »