Stocks are on rocky rides to start the year, but income investors have silver lining. Companies continue to announce increased dividends. The S&P 500 limped through February, losing 1.4%, exacerbating concerns about inflation, President Donald Trump's imminent tariffs and geopolitical risks that emphasize investor sentiment. On Friday, the broad index temporarily slipped into negative territory in 2025. Still, companies report their fourth quarter reports, offering another market catalyst. As of Friday, around 97% of the S&P 500 were reporting revenue, with over 75% per fact set exceeding analyst estimates. Some of these S&P 500 names had good news for income investors. According to JPMorgan data, there were 20 S&P 500 companies that announced dividend hikes in the week that ended February 25th. There were no new cuts or suspensions announced at that time, the company said. Heavy batters who announced dividend hikes include Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola rose 51 cents per share from about 5.2%. “We have an unwavering prioritization to increase dividends, as we did for the 62 consecutive years in relation to capital returns,” said John Murphy, Coca-Cola's chief financial officer, in the company's February 11 revenue call. “Our dividends are supported by the generation of long-term free cash flow. In 2024, the dividend paid as a percentage of adjusted free cash flow was 73%,” he added. Other big names that have joined the recent rankings include Occiden's Oil, Home Depot and General Motors. According to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices, dividends rose in 2025 until February 18th, with over 80 S&P 500 companies making an announcement of an increase in dividends. See below for some names that have increased income payments. Semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices has increased its quarterly dividend payments from 8% per share to 99 cents. The stock maintains what is a rough patch of technology names that rose more than 6% in 2025. The S&P 500's technology division is 6% per year. This hike marks the 21st consecutive year of higher dividends for analog devices. The current dividend yield on the stock is 1.7%. Benchmark Equity Research began compensation for its stock earlier this month, reflecting a rise of more than 9% since the end of Thursday, with a purchase rating and price target of $245. “Addy is one of the most attractive opportunities in the entire high-performance analog semiconductor landscape and we believe it is uniquely located to promote sustainable growth, widening margins and persuasive shareholder returns,” writes analyst David Williams. “100% return of key cash generation models and generous capital allocation strategies targets [free cash flow] He added that of the 32 analysts covering analog devices, 20 of the analysts covering analog devices, 20 buys or strong buys, and the consensus price target is looking for upsides of 13%. Share – Payment of $0.235 per share. And, as announced this morning, we are pleased to see CFO John David Rainey strengthened his commitment to strong cash returns to shareholders, a 13% increase this year, the biggest increase in over a decade. Overweight has earned a rating of 41 people as Walmart continues to gain market share. Due diligence for individual dividend paying stocks would also like to look at the company's balance sheet and free cash flow. In fact, a high dividend payment rate suggests that companies pay more profits to shareholders rather than reinvest in their business. They may suggest that the company's stock prices are on a downward trajectory, so it's also worth looking at the high dividend yields. For investors who take a diverse approach to adding dividend payers, the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) could be a good place to start. Common names such as Emerson Electric, Clorox, and Walmart are their holdings.
