Dividend Increase: ABT

One of my dividend-growth stocks, Abbott Laboratories (ABT), increased its quarterly dividend by 6.3% today, raising the payment from $0.48 to $0.51 per share. This puts the company on track for its 40th consecutive year of dividend growth before it splits into two companies by the end of this year. Given that I own 45 shares of ABT, my quarterly dividend increases from $21.60 to $22.95, which will add an extra $5.40 to my annual dividend income. This dividend increase also boosts my yield on cost to 3.85%.