Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

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4 Stocks That Took a Hike
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMFBreakerRick)
April 10, 2006

http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2006/mft06041001.htm

Do you buy dividend-paying stocks for today's yield, or for the potential of greater payouts? Too many investors are too concerned with the present to fully appreciate companies that inch their payouts higher; in the future, those firms will become even more attractive to dividend-hungry investors. Higher payouts are also a good sign of a company with improving fundamentals.

Let's take a closer look at four of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.

We'll start with Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM). The wireless communications enabler has been a Wall Street favorite, thanks largely to its knack of producing net profit margins of 35% or better in recent quarters. That's why a dividend hike shouldn't leave the company breaking much of a sweat. The quarterly distribution is going from $0.09 a share to $0.12 a share. The new sum will inch Qualcomm's yield to a mere 0.9%, but that may be just fine for growth-stock investors looking for a little extra pocket change.

On the more conservative side of the income-producing spectrum, we have TJX (NYSE: TJX). The parent company behind discount apparel retailers TJ Maxx and Marshalls picked up the pace on its payout. Investors will now receive $0.07 a share every three months. Even though that's just a penny better than the old dividend, it still translates into a beefy 17% increase for the company. It also comes as a rocky retail environment has put the company in a transitional phase.

H.B. Fuller (NYSE: FUL) was another hiker. The major player in sealants, coatings, and adhesives has been sticking to market-busting earnings growth. The company has considerably lapped analyst targets lately. That may give Fuller the flexibility to dramatically ratchet up its dividend, but the company has taken a more careful stance. In fact, Fuller is splitting pennies this time around, with its quarterly dividend now growing from $0.1225 to $0.125 per share. It still translates into an impressive streak of 37 consecutive years of dividend hikes.

Then we have Movado Group (NYSE: MOV). The watchmaker's 20% yield hike is making the passage of time more financially rewarding for shareholders. Investors will now be receiving $0.06 a share every three months. The move comes even after rival Fossil (Nasdaq: FOSL) had watered down its 2006 outlook back in February. That's one way to "clock" the competition.