Headlines of dividend increases can permeate at a dazzling pace during the meatiest weeks of earnings season. However, late-reporting stragglers also deserve recognition for their willingness to return more capital to shareholders.
Below are three leaders in their respective industries that are boosting dividends at the tail end of Q4 2024 earnings. All return, market capitalization, and dividend yield figures use data as of the Mar. 14 close.
Oracle: Dividend to Jump by 25%, Yield Tops S&P 500 Once More
Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) is famous for its leadership position in relational database management and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Lately, the tech firm has gained recognition for its growing cloud infrastructure business. It’s also a key player in the $500 billion Stargate Project. Oracle, with a market cap of $418 billion, is the second-largest software company in the world.
Following the theme of being a massive tech company, Oracle also just announced a massive dividend increase. The company will raise its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, an increase of 25% from the previous $0.40 per share. It will be payable on Apr. 23 to shareholders of record on Apr. 10. This dividend increase follows the firm’s pattern of raising dividends only once every two years. The firm now has an indicated dividend yield of just over 1.3% over the next 12 months. The company’s yield now sits just above the 1.2% yield of the S&P 500 Index.
This is the first time Oracle’s yield has been above that of the Index since Jun. 2024. Although it doesn’t appear intentional, Oracle has done a good job of keeping its dividend relatively in line with the S&P 500 over the last 10 years. The average trailing twelve-month yield of the S&P 500 over the period sits at 1.7%, while Oracle’s is 1.5%. If not for the effect of special dividends issued by various firms in the S&P 500, their yields would be even closer.
Toll Brothers: Providing Stellar Total Returns Despite a Relatively Low Dividend Yield
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) is the leading builder of single-family luxury homes in the United States. Last quarter, the average selling price of one of the company’s homes was $925,000. The company stands out among homebuilders for having one of the highest gross margins in the industry at 28% over the last 12 months.
Despite posting its lowest adjusted earnings per share (EPS) since the final quarter of 2022, the firm announced an increase in its quarterly dividend of 9%. The new $0.25 payment is payable on Apr. 25 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Apr. 11. This is the fifth consecutive year the firm has increased its dividend. Now, the stock has an indicated dividend yield of just under 1%.
This yield is notably lower than the yields of other homebuilders like Lennar (NYSE: LEN) and D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI). However, even when accounting for its lower dividend, Toll Brothers' 314% total return over the last five years blows these two out of the water. Meanwhile, D.R. Horton and Lennar have provided total returns of 240% and 176%, respectively.
American Tower: Strengthens Its Already Solid Yield With a 5% Payout Boost
Many investors may not know much about American Tower (NYSE: AMT) compared to Oracle or Toll Brothers, but it has a strong reputation. It is one of the world’s leading players in communications real estate, with almost 149,000 communications properties. It is also the world’s second-largest real estate investment trust, with a market capitalization of nearly $99 billion. The company has announced a moderate increase to its quarterly dividend of 5%. The new $1.70 distribution is payable on Apr. 28 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Apr. 11.
The company has adjusted its dividend up and down over the recent past, making it a bit more difficult to know how much it will pay out over the full year. However, assuming a constant $1.70 payment over the next four quarters, the stock would have an indicated dividend yield of 3.2%. This is largely in line with its average yield over the past three years. Since 2014, the company has managed to increase its annual dividend per share by over 450%.
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