These 2 Industrial Powerhouses Just Declared Dividend Raises
We can't say that October is a traditionally hot time for dividend raises, but a smattering of publicly traded companies chose the spooky month for their latest payout hikes. Among the better-known lifters were a pair of sturdy industrial sector mainstays, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and (NASDAQ: HON). Here's a look at this fresh pair of dividend raises.
Being the largest pure-play defense company on this planet gives Lockheed Martin a great deal of power on the market. It also helps power its payout to ever-higher altitudes. The company wasn't shy about mentioning that its latest quarterly dividend raise -- by nearly 5% over its predecessor, to $3.30 per share -- marks the 22nd year in a row it's upped the distribution.
The beauty of being an active and busy U.S. defense contractor is the prizes a company can earn purely from major government contracts. Our armed forces want contractors they can rely on for many years, so deals in this business can be quite long in duration. They are also lucrative, given the sophisticated hardware required and the immense size of federal coffers.
Source Fool.com
