Everybody loves dividends, as they provide a passive income stream, limit drawdowns in other positions, and provide more than one way to profit from an investment.

And when considering dividend-paying stocks, those with a history of boosting their payout are prime considerations, reflecting their commitment to increasingly rewarding shareholders.

In addition, consistent dividend hikes reflect the company’s successful nature, opting to share profits with shareholders.

And recently, three companies – AbbVie ABBV, Visa V, and Comfort Systems USA FIX – have announced payout increases. Let’s take a closer look at each.

FIX Shares Reflect AI Play

Comfort Systems USA, a current Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), offers comprehensive heating, ventilation, and air conditioning installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement services.

The company provides chillers, cooling towers, and other critical components in data centers, making it a somewhat under-the-radar play on the AI obsession. The revisions trend for its current fiscal year is notably bullish, with the $13.88 Zacks Consensus EPS estimate up 45% over the last year and suggesting nearly 60% Y/Y growth.

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The company announced a sizable 17% boost to its quarterly payout following its latest set of quarterly results, continuing its shareholder-friendly nature. As shown below, FIX has consistently increasingly rewarded shareholders, further underpinned by a 28% five-year annualized dividend growth rate.

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The share reaction to the latest print was initially negative, with shares now shaking off any negativity and trading near all-time highs. Stocks making new highs tend to make even higher highs, particularly when positive earnings estimate revisions are present.

Visa Generates Substantial Cash

Visa, a current Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), is a titan in the payments service industry, providing a wide range of financial-related services to its customers. Positive revisions followed its latest set of quarterly results, with the $11.18 Zacks Consensus EPS estimate for its current fiscal year suggesting 11% growth year-over-year.

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The above-mentioned set of results was overall positive, with Visa seeing 8% growth in Payments Volume year-over-year alongside a 10% boost in Processed Transactions. In other words, the company’s core business continues to grow, enjoying consistent momentum over the last year overall.

Visa’s board of directors approved a solid 13% boost to its quarterly payout, bringing the quarterly total to $0.59/share. The company has long been a favorite among income-focused investors thanks to its strong cash-generating abilities, with the company reporting $6.4 billion of free cash flow throughout its latest period.

Shares yield 0.7% annually.

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AbbVie Lifts Outlook

AbbVie’s recent set of results pleased investors, with shares enjoying a bullish move following the print. Concerning headline figures, the company exceeded both consensus EPS and sales expectations, with EPS growing 1.7% alongside a 3.8% sales increase.

Up 34% in 2024, shares have been red-hot, outperforming the S&P 500 handily on the back of strong quarterly releases.

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Several key offerings helped drive the results, with Skyrizi revenue of $3.2 billion soaring 51% higher year-over-year. Rinvoq was also another huge contributor, with sales of $1.6 billion melting 45% higher from the same period last year.

The results led the company to up its full-year guidance yet again, now expecting adjusted EPS in a band of $10.90 - $10.94 per share ($10.67 - $10.87 per share previously). To top it off, the company also announced a 5.8% boost to its quarterly payout, continuing its shareholder-friendly nature.

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Bottom Line

Everybody loves dividends, essentially investors’ form of payday. They can help limit drawdowns in other positions and provide a passive income stream, two key traits that all market participants enjoy.

And for those seeking companies that have recently boosted payouts, all three above – AbbVie ABBV, Visa V, and Comfort Systems USA FIX – fit the criteria.

All three recently upped their quarterly payouts, continuing their shareholder-friendly nature.

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