February Dividends

Investors are watching dividend announcements closely during February. Although a company can increase or decrease a dividend at any time, February is a popular month for dividend announcements since it is often when the previous year's final earnings are announced. Last year, February saw 78 dividend increases by S&P 500 companies. So far this February, there have been 28 dividend increases announced. Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, expects that dividends paid by S&P 500 companies will reach $319 billion in 2014, topping the $312 billion in dividends paid during 2013.