The first dividend increase I want to tell you about came from Kroger Co. - stock ticker KR. It's been said many times that successful long-term investing is actually quite boring. It should be like watching paint dry. Well, it's hard to think of something more boring than a grocery store, yet there's a lot of money to be made in this simple, boring, easy-to-understand business model. Moreover, it's kind of difficult to argue that getting a 17% "pay raise" for doing nothing other than holding stock is boring. That's exciting stuff. Most basic valuation metrics are roughly in line with their respective recent historical averages. And the 2.1% yield is actually 30 basis points higher than its five-year average. I wouldn't say the stock is cheap. But it's not unreasonable in this market, all things considered.

The second dividend increase you should know about came courtesy of JPMorgan Chase & Co. - stock ticker JPM. I've gotta be honest here. I was actually expecting something a bit bigger from JPMorgan Chase after they passed the Fed's latest stress test with flying colors. Still, it's difficult to get too upset about an 11% increase in your pay - especially when you didn't really do anything to receive it. I mean, I wouldn't be unhappy if I still had a day job and my boss gave me an 11% raise in pay - after working hard day in and day out to receive it. I like the valuation here. The P/E ratio is below 13. The yield is above its own five-year average. And they just handed out a sizable dividend increase. Plus, they're run by arguably the best big bank CEO in America. I don't know what else investors could want.

Lastly, let's talk about the big dividend increase that came from Matson Inc. - stock ticker MATX. Yeah, 30% more money for shareholders. For doing practically nothing. Being a shareholder is a great gig, I must say. This huge dividend boost is a bit of a surprise, as their five-year dividend growth rate is only 5.2%. Talk about dividend growth acceleration. This stock is killing it. The yield of 1.9% would kind of demand a higher dividend growth rate in order to make sense of the stock, and that's exactly what Matson just delivered. With some of their more recent quarters showing amazing growth, Matson is positioned quite well. Business performance can justify some of the stock performance, which has been nothing short of breathtaking. It's absolutely crushed the broader market. Even with that, most of the stock's basic valuation metrics aren't out of line with where they've been, on average, over the last five years. Now, this kind of business can be quite cyclical in nature, so you have to be careful with that. That said, if there's a sizable dip in this name, it would be something you'd want to have on your radar.

Video Length: 00:06:57