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Investors love dividends and other methods companies use to return capital to shareholders.  Still, dividends are the easiest for shareholders to gauge because it translates to direct capital recognition.  Some of the key dividend raises are coming from Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC), Trinity Biotech plc (NASDAQ: TRIB), Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS), Prudential plc (NYSE: PUK), Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS), Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), and Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT).

Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) is the most recent of the dividend hikes from large corporations.  Shareholders just approved a annual payout to $1.00 from a rate of $0.84, which translates to $0.25 per quarter rather than the $0.21 rate.  The new yield comes to above 2.2% based on a $45.30 share price.

Trinity Biotech plc (NASDAQ: TRIB) was recently named as “Bull of the Day” by Zacks, in part due to its dividend initiation.  While only about 1%, this is another diagnostic products company paying shareholders in he form of dividends.

Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) just hit its own investor Easy-Button by hiking its payout to $0.10 per share per quarter from a rate of $0.09.  The new $0.40 annualized rate comes to a tad under 2.0% based upon its $20.20 share price.

Prudential plc (NYSE: PUK) must have more liberty to determine its own payout even though the United Kingdom is not immune from the woes and regulations of the world.  It is in pence as it is an ADR and that makes the rate already variable for US-holders.  Still in local currency the payout went to 23.85 pence from 19.85.  It must have said “Eat your heart out!” to the U.S. regulatory framework.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS) joined the big Canadian banks boosting payout this year as a sign that it has shined over its US-counterparts.  The dividend has always fluctuated a bit for US investors because of currency exchange rates.  The new payout went to C$0.52 from C$0.49 per share per quarter.  That comes to about 3.3%.

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) approved a 13% increase in the quarterly payout from $0.19 to $0.215 per share per quarter.  The new annual rate of $0.86 per share in dividends comes to a dividend yield of 1.5%.  That may be lower than some of the top semiconductor payouts we have featured before with 3% yields but is still a move in the right direction.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) also hiked its payout to $0.08 from $0.07 per share per quarter.  This is actually taking the semiconductor equipment maker’s yield up to above 2.0% and that is after close to a 50% share gain since the lows seen just last summer.

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JON C. OGG