The calendar has turned once again. You know what that means, right? It is time for the next installment of our Expected Dividend Increases series. For those of you that are new, each month, we try to summarize all the Dividend Aristocrats (and a few other companies) that are expected to announce a dividend increase in the coming month. We also include a summary of the increases from the previous month. Here are the expected dividend increases in April 2019!

Actual Dividend Increases in March

As always, before diving into the month ahead, I like to review the companies that were included in the previous month’s article. If I was expecting a company to announce, it was nice to see if the company actually followed through with their expectation. March only had a few companies in this listing, so unlike January and February, this area should be pretty short.

• Company #1:  Colgate-Palmolive (CL) –  Well, CL falls under the category of slowing dividend growth. A trend I discussed earlier in the year in an article. CL increased their quarterly dividend to $.43/share from $.42/share. This $.01/share increase was only 2.4%. For a consumer staple, the low dividend increase is not too surprising given the headwinds the industry is facing.
• Company #2: General Dynamics (GD) – Entering this month, General Dynamics has a 5-year average dividend growth rate just over 10%.  This year’s dividend increase was pretty consistent with that mark. GD’s quarterly dividend was increased to $1.02/share from $.93/share. A 9.7% increase. Gotta love a consistent approach by management!
• Bonus Company #1: Realty Income (O) –  For some reason, despite the fact I own the company, I ALWAYS forget to include Realty Income in this article. Maybe it is due to the fact that Realty Income’s dividend increases are like clockwork and not that large as well.  Regardless, I need to remember to include them! This month, Realty Income announced a very small dividend increase of .2%. Their monthly dividend increase to $.226/share from $.2255 /share.

Expected Dividend Increases in April

I mentioned in the introduction that April is going to be a fun month!  You’re darn right it is going to be. That is because there are some legendary dividend-paying companies that are set to announce a dividend increase in April. You might as well familiarize yourself with our Top 5 Foundation Dividend Stock listing now because several of them will be included in this section. But of course, there are other companies that pay as well. With such a long list, it is time to jump right in. Here are the expected dividend increases in April.

• Company #1: Procter & Gamble (PG) – Let’s get this party started with a heavy hitter. Not only is PG an Aristocrat, but they are one of our Foundation dividend stocks for a reason. The consumer staple giant has been on a tear recently and the stock is now trading over $100/share. Sure, their dividend growth has been slow over the last several years. But is now the time that we see this trend broken by a large dividend increase?  Let’s find out…
• Company #2: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – Another Foundation stock finds its way on this listing. Told you there were several to be included. While JNJ’s stock price has not been as hot as PG’s over the last year, the company’s stock price has rebounded nicely after the announcement of their legal issues in the fourth quarter. Their 5-year average dividend growth rate is 6.40%. I’ll be curious to see what the increase is this year based on the negative press the company has received this year.
• Company #3: International Business Machines (IBM) – Not a foundation stock, but a company that Lanny and I both own in our portfolios. Lanny added to his position after the company announced the Red Hat acquisition last year and I’m still kicking myself for sitting on the sidelines at that time. I’m interested to see the impact this acquisition has on the company’s dividend growth in the short-term. The acquisition will cost IBM $34 billion. That’s a lot of cash. Surely that will change the company’s capital allocation strategy, right? With a 5-year average dividend growth rate of 10.69%, who knows if the company will announce a shockingly large or shockingly small dividend increase.
• Company #4: Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI) –  KMI sent shockwaves through the dividend investing community last April when they announced a 60% dividend increase.  For shareholders like ourselves, that held after their famous dividend cut years ago, this was welcomed news.  On top of it, the company announced plans to continue dividend growth. Will the company repeat their magic this April? We shall see (although, no chance they continue to increase their dividend 60% annually).
• Company #5:  Exxon Mobil (XOM) – Exxon is a position that my wife and I have slowly been building in our portfolios over the last year.  This Dividend Aristocrat has a dividend yield over 4% and continues to produce strong cash flow. The oil giant had a very strong dividend increase in 2018. It was welcomed for investors given the company’s small increases in prior years. With slowing dividend growth across the board, XOM could be a contender for a small dividend increase in 2019.
• Company #6:  Southern Company (SO) – The utility was a darling of the dividend growth community over the years. It seems like a lot of DGI were lining up and adding to or initiating positions in the company. Those investors are in for a welcome treat this month as the company is set to announce a dividend increase! The company has essentially announced a $.02/share increase in their quarterly dividend for the last five years. So I wouldn’t expect too much of a difference in 2019.
• Company #7: W.W.Grainger (GWW) – Grainger, Grainger, Grainger. This will always be one of my favorite purchases that Lanny made over the years. It came out of nowhere and he caught me completely off guard with it. Now, it has been one of his better-performing stocks.  As always, excellent picking Lanny! The company announced a nice 6.25% dividend increase last year. A nice solid dividend increase. Let’s see what they can do this year.
• Company #8:  Apple Inc. (AAPL) – Why am I saving Apple for last, considering it is most likely the highest profile company here? That’s because last year, Apple announced their dividend at the beginning of May. They broke a streak of announcing in April. This one is on the fence, so I didn’t want to include it first on the list. Hopefully, Apple returns to the norm and announces this month. They’ve already made headways with their product announcements, so I wonder what will be next on the dividend front!

Phew, man, that list was getting long. This will be an exciting month of dividend increases and a welcome month after the slow March. Dividend increases are the name of the game for us. We cannot wait to see what this month has in store.

How many of the expected dividend increases are you set to receive in April? Are you expecting any dividend increases that I did not include above? Did you receive any dividend increases in March that I did not include above? I’m sure there are some random banks that were not included in the listing.