Realty Income Increases Monthly Dividend

Recently I wrote about getting back to investing in REITs. Today I read about Realty Income increasing their monthly dividend and decided to add shares to my portfolio. Its Board of Directors has declared an increase in the Company's common stock monthly cash dividend to $0.1426875 per share from $0.142375 per share. The dividend is payable on October 15, 2009 to shareholders of record as of October 1, 2009. This is the 48th consecutive quarterly increase and the 55th dividend increase since Realty Income went public in 1994. The new monthly dividend amount represents an annualized dividend amount of $1.71225 per share as compared to the previous annualized dividend amount of $1.7085 per share. The Company continues its long-term policy of declaring and paying dividends on a monthly, rather than on a quarterly, basis.

The Chief Executive Officer of Realty Income commented, "We are pleased that, despite challenging economic conditions, our operations allow us to once again increase the amount of the dividend we pay to our shareholders. With the payment of the October dividend we will have made 471 consecutive monthly dividend payments."

Realty Income (O), The Monthly Dividend Company(R), is a New York Stock Exchange real estate company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. To date the Company has declared 471 consecutive common stock monthly dividends throughout its 40-year operating history and increased the dividend 55 times since Realty Income's listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 1994. The monthly dividend is supported by the cash flow from over 2,300 retail properties owned under long-term lease agreements with leading regional and national retail chains. The Company is a buyer of net-leased retail properties nationwide.

Philip Morris Boosts Dividend!

Was glad to hear tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) will be boosting their quarterly dividend payout by 7.4%. The new dividend payout is 58 cents per share quarterly, compared to a prior payout of 54 cents. The company said that the dividend is payable Oct. 9th to shareholders of record as of Sept. 28. I added Philip Morris as a long term holding a few months back, and will probably pick up more shares before the 28th to take advantage of the increased dividend. While sales of cigarettes and tobacco products in the U.S. have declined, this is not the case in other countries.

I sold my stake in Altria, earlier in the year, when the new cigarette tax went in to effect. The thinking being, with the current state of the economy and the ridiculous increase in the price of cigarettes, Philip Morris International would be in a better position than Altria to make a profit and pay dividends to shareholders.

About Philip Morris:

"Philip Morris International (PMI) is the leading international tobacco company, with products sold in approximately 160 countries. In 2008, we held an estimated 15.6% share of the international cigarette market outside of the USA. In 2008, we reported net revenues, excluding excise taxes, of $25.7 billion, and operating income of $10.2 billion.

We own seven of the top 15 brands in the world and have a strong mix of international and local products that seek to appeal to a wide array of adult smokers. We are committed to providing our consumers with the highest-quality tobacco products.

We are driven to create the best possible return for shareholders, while proactively engaging regulators and the public health community to address the complex issues surrounding tobacco use."

Visit Philip Morris:
http://www.philipmorrisinternational.com/PMINTL/pages/eng/ourbus/About_us.asp