Expected Dividend Increases for June 2021

As I'm writing this blog post, Memorial Day is a couple days away and June is fast approaching. It's hard to believe that half of 2021 is just weeks away from being in the books!

With that aside, I will be discussing the dividend increases that I received in May and looking ahead to the dividend increases that I am expecting in June.

Actual May Dividend Increases

Dividend Increase #1: American Tower (AMT)

American Tower announced a 2.4% increase in its quarterly dividend, taking it from $1.24/share to $1.27/share, which was slightly above my expectation of a 1.6% increase in the quarterly dividend as outlined in my previous post of this series.

For those that aren't familiar with AMT, the stock has increased its dividend each quarter without fail since its REIT conversion in 2012.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the first dividend increase that I received from AMT since I initiated my position in the stock back in April.

Across my 3 shares of the stock, my net annual forward dividends increased $0.36 as a result of AMT's dividend increase.

Dividend Increase #2: Lowe's (LOW)

Given Lowe's impressive operating results to start off the year (25.9% consolidated comparable sales growth and 81.4% YoY diluted EPS growth), LOW's management team and Board of Directors felt comfortable hiking its quarterly dividend by a staggering 33.3% from $0.60/share to $0.80/share.

Since this raise was just over triple what I was anticipating and LOW can easily afford the dividend increase, I'm glad to see LOW rewarding shareholders with a very generous dividend increase.

My net annual forward dividends surged $3.20 across my 4 shares of LOW's at the time of the stock's dividend increase.

Dividend Increase #3: Leggett & Platt (LEG)

Shortly after I wrote my previous post of this series, Leggett & Platt announced a 5.0% increase in its quarterly dividend, taking the quarterly dividend from $0.40/share to $0.42/share just as I expected.

Across my 8 shares of the stock, my net annual forward dividends advanced $0.64 due to LEG's dividend increase.

Expected Dividend Increases for June

Expected Dividend Increase #1: Realty Income (O)

Starting off June's expected dividend increases, is none other than The Monthly Dividend Company itself, Realty Income. 

Since O has a track record of quarterly dividend increases at the end of each quarter and typically a larger raise at the beginning of the year, I am anticipating that O will announce a 0.2% increase to its monthly dividend, taking it from the previous $0.235/share to $0.2355/share.

Should this dividend increase manifest itself as I expect, my net annual forward dividends would increase $0.078 across my 13 shares of the stock.

Expected Dividend Increase #2: W.P. Carey (WPC)

Another sturdy dividend payer with a track record of delivering dividend increases each quarter is W.P. Carey.

Similar to O, I am anticipating a 0.2% increase in WPC's quarterly dividend, from the old quarterly dividend of $1.048/share to $1.050/share.

Across my 7 shares of the stock, my net annual forward dividends would be boosted by $0.056 should this dividend increase play out.

Expected Dividend Increase #3: UnitedHealth Group (UNH)

The final dividend increase that I am expecting is from none other than the healthcare behemoth, UnitedHealth Group.

Since UNH is poised to continue with strong double-digit earnings growth in 2021, I am predicting that UNH will announce a solid 14.4% increase in its quarterly dividend, from $1.25/share to $1.43/share.

My net annual forward dividends would advance by $0.56 across my single share of UNH in the event that this dividend increase occurs.

Concluding Thoughts:

Overall, May was a very strong month in terms of dividend increases despite the fact that there were only 3 this month. 

I received $4.20 in dividend increases during May, which would be equivalent to adding $105.00 in fresh capital at a 4% yield.

While I am expecting another 3 raises in June, I don't believe June's impact of dividend increases will come anywhere near May's due to my limited allocation to the one true growth stock that will be announcing a dividend increase in June, which is UNH.

Even so, my net annual forward dividends are just over $1,720 heading into June, which is really beyond what I could have imagined by this point in my life. I still have a long way to go on the road to attaining financial freedom, but the progress to date since I began investing nearly 4 years ago has been very encouraging.

Discussion:

Were May's dividend announcements better than your expectations as was the case with myself?

Did you receive any first time dividend increases as I did with AMT?

Thanks for your readership and I look forward to your comments in the comment section below!