PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is the latest of the big companies to hike their dividend payouts this morning.  We have not kept an exact tally, but this is getting close to 70 of the S&P 500 components that have raised their dividend payments.  Pepsi’s dividend went from $1.80 up to $1.92 per year, but the company also threw in a share buyback plan of up to $15 billion through June 2013.   The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) recently hiked its dividend as well, and Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS) is one of our top dividend hike candidates for later in 2010.

We have tallied many companies for dividend hikes this year, but we have also predicted a few companies which may initiate dividend payments in the very near future.

QUALCOMM Corp. (NASDAQ: QCOM) recently stopped its stock slide by announcing the same sort of dividend hike and buyback boost.  Its shares are up almost 10% since then.  Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) was at $12.29 about a week ago before it announced its dividend hike and $2 billion share buyback.  Its shares are unfortunately down at $12.15 today.  On that news, we showed which stocks in the chip and semiconductor sector might be candidates to boost their dividends and even noted which ones were likely not candidates for new dividends or dividend hikes.