Dow Jones Industrial Average Companies Increase Expected Dividend Distribution by 12.66% From a Year Ago

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's 30 component companies are expected to increase their annual dividend payout by 12.66% year-over-year and 2.93% from the previous quarter, according to a second-quarter 2011 survey by Dow Jones Indexes. DJIA component companies' $101.6 billion expected distribution for the 12 months beginning July 1, 2011 represents 38% of all indicated annual dividends by American companies as measured by the Dow Jones U.S. Index, a gauge that accounts for roughly 95% of the U.S. equity market. (Indicated annual dividend is a forward-looking measure defined as a company's most recently paid quarterly dividend multiplied by four.) For the quarters ended March 31, 2011 and June 30, 2010, DJIA component companies paid $98.7 billion and $90.1 billion in IAD, respectively. "As is the case with most information gleaned from Dow Jones Industrial Average's component companies, this dividend data provides meaningful insight into the strategic outlook of bellwether U.S. corporations," said David Krein, Senior Director, Product Development and Analytics, at Dow Jones Indexes. The 10 largest dividend distributions in the U.S. market – by total estimated payout – are all DJIA component companies: AT&T T: $10.2 billion IAD, or $1.72 per share; Exxon Mobil XOM: $9.2 billion, $1.88; Pfizer PFE: $6.4 billion, $0.80; General Electric GE: $6.4 billion, $0.60; Chevron CVX: $6.2 billion, $3.12; Johnson & Johnson JNJ: $6.2 billion, $2.28; Procter & Gamble PG: $5.8 billion, $2.10; Verizon VZ: $5.5 billion, $1.95; Microsoft MSFT: $4.7 billion, $0.64; and Merck MRK: $4.6 billion, $1.52. Annually, AT&T, Exxon Mobil and Pfizer – the top three payers – would account for 9.73% of all dividends paid by the stocks included in the Dow Jones U.S. Index. Since the end of 2011's first quarter, 10 DJIA companies have increased their per-share dividends: Hewlett-Packard HPQ 50%, IBM IBM 15.38%, Travelers TRV 13.89%, United Technologies UTX 12.94%, Procter & Gamble 8.98%, Chevron 8.33%, General Electric 7.14%, Exxon Mobil 6.8%, Johnson & Johnson 5.56%, and Caterpillar CAT 4.55%. And with Cisco System's CSCO first-ever dividend distribution on April 20, 2011, all Dow component companies now have cash-dividend programs. Compared with the Dow Jones U.S. Index, Dow component companies' dividend yield (indicated annual dividend divided by market capitalization) was higher by 69 basis points -- 2.57% vs. 1.88%. The Dow companies' five-year, weighted average-dividend-growth rate was 11.28%, compared with the Dow Jones U.S. Index's 14.73%. "One of the market's subtle truisms is that many investors track the DJIA for more than just its day-to-day pricing figures," Mr. Krein said. "As we can see with the dividend information, there is much to be learned about the broad U.S. market by mining The Dow's component companies' data for trends and other useful indications that enable investors to make informed decisions about their investment portfolios."